


Memories of the Future

by lucathia



Category: Land of the Blindfolded
Genre: Community: 30_kisses, F/M, Post-Canon, Romance, word count: 10000+
Language: English
Status: In-Progress
Published: 2009-12-14
Updated: 2010-08-13
Packaged: 2017-10-04 10:40:56
Rating: General Audiences
Warnings: No Archive Warnings Apply
Chapters: 22
Words: 37,735
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/29063
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/lucathia/pseuds/lucathia
Summary: <blockquote class="userstuff">
              <p>Continuation of the manga with a focus on Namiki Masahiro. Namiki's graduated. Now what? Eventual Namiki/Kaichou. For the 30_kisses challenge on livejournal.</p>
            </blockquote>





	1. Perfect Blue

**Author's Note:**

> Disclaimer: I do not own Mekakushi no Kuni and make no money from this piece of fanwork.

In a land of blindfolded people, would there be anyone who understands what it means to be able to "see?"

Walking down the busy street with eyes covered by blindfolds, she could hear the gossiping of housewives in the marketplace, the laughter of the children playing tag, the shrieks of the passing cars. She could feel the warm breeze tickle her skin, the days getting warmer as Spring approached.

In a land of blindfolded people, why would there be a need to see?

Not being able to see was the norm. The concept of sight was an absurd one.

Her blindfold, however, was defective.

Sometimes, it slipped.

And what she saw was the future.

* * *

The school year was almost over. It had crept upon them unnoticed, for the past year had been filled with discoveries and new understandings.

It had been by far the best year of her life.

Kanade Otsuka, who was soon to become a third year in high school, was watching one Arou Naitou run his hand across his forehead, wiping away the sweat from the glaring sun. He glanced across his vast fields of vegetables with a satisfied smile. She felt an urge to run her hands through his sun-kissed hair.

Kanade never got tired of watching her boyfriend, watching him cultivate and coax into existence a field of blooming life. What had once been a wasted plot of land governed by overgrown weeds had transformed into a beautiful field, thanks to Arou's determination to fulfill the dreams of the past that he had seen. On this sunny and bright afternoon, Kanade couldn't think of anything else she would rather do.

"You don't have to wait for me," remarked Arou, who was resting his chin on his hands over the plow.

She quickly placed her hands up in the air in a flurry to contradict his words. "Oh, no. I'm fine. I like watching you."

She blushed slightly, a certain warmth traveling through her, a warmth that wasn't caused by the sun.

Arou blushed in return. His dark hair only served to accent his blush more.

Kanade glanced up.

Their eyes met, a smile tugging at their lips before they burst out laughing together. It was amazing how comfortable she felt around Arou. At first it had been because they were companions with a shared secret. All it took was the slightest touch, and Arou could see the past while she saw people's futures.

Her blindfold was defective. His was long gone.

For her, it was random. For him, all touches became visions.

At one point, they had both shied away from human touch before, but in reality, they yearned for it. Kanade was no longer afraid of human touch, and the same went for Arou.

Kanade never got tired of admitting her feelings for Arou in front of him.

"All right, you two lovebirds. I bet you didn't even know I was here." A third figure loomed behind the couple, a small frown marring his face, the sun beating down on his sandy hair that went along with his light complexion.

Kanade turned around abruptly. "Namiki-san!"

Third year Namiki Masahiro shared their secret. Like her, he saw the future. But unlike both of them, he chose to remove his blindfold. He could use his power to see at will.

"Here to steal Kanade away again?" murmured Arou, weaving his fingers with Kanade's. "Too late," he said good-naturedly.

Namiki put his hands up in peace. "Hey, I'm a good guy. I just wanted to see Kanade's smiling face before I went home today." He smiled as he clapped his hand over Kanade's shoulder, and suddenly the chirping of the birds around her disappeared.

_"Namiki-kun, may I ask you again why you've decided upon this particular college? You have the top scores at our school. You can practically go to any college you wish to attend."_

_Kanade looked around. She was standing in the middle of a classroom that she didn't recognize. It was probably Namiki-san's classroom. She was hit with a sudden realization that it had always been Namiki visiting her and Arou in their two classrooms and never the other way around._

_"I don't know why you're making it sound as if the college I've chosen is horrible. After all, it's the sister school to this high school, is it not?" asked the future Namiki._

_Hearing the familiar voice, she was about to turn around..._

"Kanade?" came a soft voice.

She blinked, shaking her head slightly. "Wha-?"

"You saw something?" asked Namiki, his face dangerously close to hers as he searched her eyes. In return, she could see how blue his eyes were. She could even see the faint tinges of purple on the sides. What a peculiar color Namiki-san's eyes were...

Before Kanade even answer, Arou pushed the older boy away from his girlfriend, making sure that they were standing a respectable distance from each other.

Namiki was ticked at Arou, though only the slight furrow of his eyebrows gave him away. And the gritting of his teeth. And his hastily folded arms.

"Hm, so was it my future?" asked Namiki, continuing as if Arou hadn't done anything spiteful.

"Oh, don't worry, it's not bad," beamed Kanade. Namiki gauged her words before shrugging and warning her not to do anything to place herself in danger. Too many times, Kanade had placed herself in danger just to change the course of the future for the better. Many times for people she didn't even know.

Namiki hadn't understood in the beginning, but staying around Kanade and Arou for such a long time had really changed his views.

He gave them a nod, holding Arou's eyes slightly longer to tell the other boy to look after Kanade. He then headed towards home.

As the older boy left her view, Kanade smiled.

Namiki-san didn't wear his heart on his sleeves, but his actions often spoke louder than anything.

She was pretty sure that Namiki-san was going to choose the sister college to their high school because he wanted to stay close to them. After all, he did mention that his graduation wasn't going to stop him from appearing at lunch to eat Arou's specially prepared feasts.

Kanade giggled at that image.


	2. Perfect Blue

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> Namiki's graduation.

He vaguely recalled this bizarre event happening to him before.

Actually, he recalled it perfectly. He just wished that he didn't remember it with so much clarity.

It had been the day of his graduation from middle school.

Namiki Masahiro was one who normally kept to himself. People saw him as someone who was aloof and hard to approach. Whether or not he exuded a "greater than thou" attitude, he did not know. He just didn't like coming into contact with other people. It wasn't that he didn't have good control over his power--he could see at will after all--it was just that no one could relate to him. He didn't reach out for anyone, and in turn, people left him alone…right?

And yet, on the day of his middle school graduation, those inhibitions over his classmates about approaching him simply vanished into thin air. Suddenly, his vision was swarmed with flailing arms and greedy hands.

"Namiki-san, you wouldn't mind if I take this button of yours, would you?"

At this very moment, his high school graduation seemed like an exact repeat of that mind boggling graduation of three years ago. No, not a repeat.

This time, it was worse.

The question came from a shy girl from his homeroom. He probably talked to her, at most once, if ever. Perhaps it had even been during the school festival when he played the role of fortuneteller. The girl was blushing madly, both of her hands clasped together as if she were praying.

He didn't remember this happening to him during his graduation from elementary. However, when his middle school graduation came about, he had to wonder why girls suddenly had the odd fixation for ripping the buttons off of his uniform. They didn't want kisses, or hugs, or anything like that. They wanted, of all things, buttons! He went home that day with not one button left on his uniform. Not even the buttons on the cuff of his sleeves were left undisturbed. His uniform was half open when he trudged home. Squeals followed him. He was sure of that.

Wait. Elementary. No uniform. It had been casual wear. That must have been the case. And here he was, thinking that he was a late bloomer.

Middle school graduation had been merely a warning. This time, it was worse, but he was ready.

He was surrounded by girls, some who he recognized and some who he knew he had never seen before. Perhaps he should feel proud that he had so many admirers, and he had to admit that the smirk on his face did come from feeling somewhat smug, but seriously, he didn't have that many buttons to go around.

"Sure, go ahead," he said, in reply to his classmate's question.

If possible, the girl blushed even harder as she reached out a shaky hand to wrench his second to last button off of his shirt.

Did girls like disheveled appearances that much? And when had everyone become so bold?

Almost escaping his notice, a hand reached for the last button holding his uniform together. Masahiro grabbed the hand, stopping the hand's owner from stealing the last button.

"Sorry," he said to the hand's owner, who turned out to be someone from Arou's class, if he remembered correctly. "You have to ask permission first, you know," he said teasingly to his kouhai.

"I'm so sorry! Um, can I, I mean, may I take that last button of y-"

"Wait," Masahiro cut in, stopping the nervous chatter before him. "I was just joking. Actually, I'm saving the last one for someone else."

He could almost feel the sudden change in atmosphere around him, as the nervousness and excitement mixed with embarrassment of the people around him melted into disappointment.

It took him a long time to get out of the mob of watery-eyed girls. Masahiro gazed around, looking for that special someone.

There she was!

She always stood out amongst the crowd.

"Kanade!" he called out to her, feeling warm as her face lit up when she saw him. She beamed before worming her way through the crowd towards him.

Her smile dissolved into worry when she finally saw him up close. "Namiki-san, what happened to your shirt?"

Trust Kanade to be so naïve.

"Ah, I was the victim of the button crusade."

"Button crusade? Oh!" Kanade looked down, an endearing blush spreading across her face, no doubt thinking about how, come next year, she was going to ask Arou for one of his buttons. Kanade was predictable in ways like that.

Nevertheless, Masahiro twisted off the last button holding his shirt together.

"Here." He held the button out to Kanade. She blinked. "I want you to have this."

Immediately, flailing arms filled his vision again, but this time, they belonged to Kanade. They weren't trying to steal his buttons either.

"EH? I-I can't take that!" Her arms flailed in protest. "Namiki-san should save it for someone special!"

Masahiro grabbed her right hand, stilling it as he pressed the button into her hands. "You are someone special."

Her eyes glazed over, but he knew that it wasn't from the effect of his words. She most likely hadn't even heard them. Her faraway look was the telltale sign that she was once again immersed in the future. His future. Just because he was holding her hand. He wondered what she saw.

The moment was broken when another hand darted in, snatching the button out of both of their hands.

Masahiro glanced up, surprised. Kanade broke out of her trance as well. Both of them turned to see, well, one ticked off Arou Naitou. The dark-haired boy was not happy.

So the protector strikes at the last moment, once again.

Masahiro couldn't resist. Not with that last button of his clenched so strongly between Arou's hands.

"Why Arou, I didn't know that you've been secretly admiring me all this time." A smirk accompanied his words.

The button promptly bounced off his head.

"Hey, that button was a gift of good intentions!"

The other boy just snorted, pulling Kanade away from him. She whispered something in Arou's ear, followed by a giggle. She looked almost as if she were expecting something to happen at any moment. She pulled on Arou's sleeve, jerking her head towards the side, indicating that they should leave.

Kanade mouthed, "Good luck" as the two quickly disappeared into the crowd. Arou had one hand up, a gesture for luck as well, though he didn't say anything, nor did he look back.

Alone once again, Masahiro was a bit confused at their sudden departure. He wondered just what they were both wishing him luck for. Graduating? Starting a new school life in college? Maybe it had something to do with what Kanade saw of the future. He bent down, looking for the button that Arou had flicked at him.

When his eyes finally landed on the button in the shadowed corner, he reached out for it, yet another hand beat him to it.

"Girls nowadays can get quite violent, ne?" contemplated the soft voice of the hand's owner. The hand closed around the button, picking it up. "Your uniform's all messed up."

He looked up at her, a lonely figure among the crowd. Her other hand was busy tucking a long strand of hair behind her ears. It was a wasted motion, since the wind quickly blew her hair out of place, and she had to tuck her hair behind her ears once again. But other than that, her appearance was impeccable. Her hair looked nice, even when it was out of place.

In comparison, he wondered just how messy his appearance was right now. His hair was sticking out wildly and his uniform was near tatters.

"Namiki?" she questioned, when he didn't reply.

She held the button out to him.

He blinked, his hand moving out before he even thought about it. Within her open palm lay the last button, but he didn't take it back. Instead, he lightly closed her hands around it.

At her surprised expression, he just grinned.

"You can keep it."

She didn't try to return it to him again, perhaps just out of obligation to a friend. Absentmindedly, he turned towards the direction that Kanade and Arou had disappeared, still lost in thought, wondering about what Kanade had seen.

But if he hadn't…he would have noticed the blush that spread across the class president's entire face, the rosy color spreading to even her ears and her neck.

And he would have known then just what Kanade had seen.


	3. Gardenia

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> Namiki thinks about college and what his future holds.

Masahiro walked along the path towards his new school for the very first time. The white pavement was clean, unmarred by the weeds that littered other streets. He passed by several shops--a second hand bookshop, a convenience store, a flower shop in the corner...these were not new images, but his path and his destination were different from before. He noticed the chipped paint of the sign over the bookshop, the blue-tinted windows of the convenience store, the displays of floating flowers outside of the flower shop...

Masahiro was hit with the sudden though that ever since meeting Kanade and Arou, this was the first time his path diverged from theirs. It was inevitable, but he hadn't expected time to be the factor. He hadn't expected their comradeship, friendship, or whatever it was called, to last so long that he'd actually graduate and become separated from them because of the passing of time.

For once, he actually felt like a normal teenager.

The college that Masahiro had chosen to attend was extremely close to Kanade's. After all, it shared the same name as their high school. Kanade had been entirely correct that the closeness of the school was his reason for choosing it. The college was only a few blocks away, and yet, the distance was great compared to before.

Before, he had been merely a few classrooms away.

He hadn't visited the college beforehand to check it out. His teachers had been disappointed in his choice since his test scores could have gotten him into far better colleges, but Masahiro merely assumed he could make the best out of any university. It was a matter of choosing to apply himself to his studies.

The college stood before his eyes. It was a lone building with everything packed into it. The building was several stories high and covered quite a bit of land, but it didn't give him the feeling of being altogether that different from his high school. It wasn't very impressive.

But with any college, even a second-rate one, came the question of his future, something that he had never actually given serious thought to before. He was one who could see the future, anyone's future, if he wished, so why should he be uncertain about his own future? It was true that he couldn't directly see his own future, but it wasn't impossible. Kanade could help him, for one. He could also try to see the futures of people whose futures he was part of, though he wasn't sure who would actually stick around him for that long.

He knew he couldn't see that far. He wouldn't attempt it even if he could. If his power were strong enough and he took a look at Kanade's future, would he inevitably see Kanade in a white wedding dress, hear the priest say "You may kiss the bride" not to him but to Arou, and then have adorable mini-Kanade's who looked up at _him_, one Namiki Masahiro, and called him 'Uncle Namiki?'

He wasn't sure what to make of that.

But, mini-Kanades were certainly better than mini-Arous.

He lived in the present and in the immediate future. Something as far away as the future of the future felt surreal.

The future held infinite possibilities. He didn't plan on ending up alone.

Even with his power, the future was still a vast, blank slate waiting to be written on.

Where was he planning on going with his life? He had always assumed that he wouldn't need to continue his education since he could always fall back on his power to see, but after meeting Kanade, that line of thought felt childish.

He was financially set for the time being from all that he had already earned, so money wasn't a factor.

It boiled down to what he enjoyed.

He paused at that thought. What exactly did he enjoy?

On his way back from the college, he passed by the flower shop again. The flower display that he had noticed before was still placed outside the shop. It was a small display of white, stem-less flowers floating in a bowl. He glanced at the sign stuck right behind the display--gardenia for one hundred yen, it said.

He'd have never called himself a flower type of guy, but he had to admit that he couldn't stop himself from blushing when Kanade and Arou presented him that bouquet of flowers that one time he was tutoring Kanade.

He had the flowers placed in a vase on his windowsill, watering them with care every day. They made his large, empty apartment seem a little less empty. But the flowers, since they were cut off at the stem and separated from their roots, didn't last very long.

Masahiro squatted down in front of the display and poked at the floating flower, watching it sink into the water.

What kind of memories would this flower tell him of?

_You remind me of flowers._

_Oh? So if I were a flower, what would I be?_

_If you were a flower? Definitely gardenia, just like this one. _

The finger ran over the silky petals, like a soft caress.

_Gardenia?_

_The pale petals remind me of your hair. They're solitary too, without a stem to anchor them in place. A sole gardenia seems like it is its own island, surrounded by water, unreachable. It feels like any moment, the flower will disappear from view._

_I don't plan on disappearing._

_I know, but that's the feeling you give. Didn't you know that? I'm afraid that you'll disappear just like how Arou did during the class trip. He had Kanade to bring him back, but in your case..._

_Ah, but you'd bring me back, wouldn't you?_

Masahiro retracted his hand and watched as the flower bobbed back to the surface.

"Hey, shop owner, one hundred yen right? I'll buy one. Along with the bowl."

Masahiro took the solitary flower home, putting it in a bowl near the window. Marota, still an excitable puppy, sat in front of the bowl, swatting at the floating flower, watching it get submerged before resurfacing again.

The future held infinite possibilities. It was up to him what to make of them.


	4. Say Ahhh

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> The start of school for Kanade and the others.

Pushing through the crowd, she mumbled a hasty "sorry" whenever she bumped into someone. Her heart thumped nervously in fear of her defective blindfold slipping away, giving her a glimpse of the future.

She remembered her first year of high school when she flinched from the slightest touch. But Eri had seen through her fear and held onto her. Eri's kindness and perceptiveness had made them instant friends. The next year, Eri had come up from behind her, covering her eyes and saying, "Guess what? We're in the same class again. I guess you'll have to endure my selfish ways again!"

Kanade had turned around, an uncontainable smile on her face, as she engulfed Eri with a return embrace.

Eri was the first person she confessed to about her secret.

Eri had understood.

Now for the last time in her high school career, Kanade made her way through the crowd, heading towards where the class rosters for the new school year were posted. A new school year meant that the classes would be redistributed once again.

Suddenly, a figure barreled into her, clinging on to her and wailing. Her heart pounded with fury from the sudden contact, but she managed to calm down once she realized that she was still rooted in the present. She relaxed even further upon realizing just who was behind her.

"Kanade! I can't believe it! We're not in the same class!" exclaimed Eri. She pointed at the rosters. "Look!"

Kanade's eyes followed Eri's finger, her heart plummeting in disappointment when she noticed that they were indeed in different classes. Her eyes quickly darted around, searching for Arou's name next. She imagined getting assigned to the seat next to him, sharing a textbook whenever either one of them forgot theirs. During the lunch period, they would push their desks together to form their grand lunch table. Getting assigned the seat behind him wouldn't be bad either, since then she'd be able to admire Arou's profile all that she wanted.

"Oh look, neither of us are in the same class as last year's class president either," murmured Eri as she scanned the rosters some more. "Ah, but she's in the same class as Arou."

Kanade immediately snapped out of her daydream, her gaze zeroing in on the name Someya. Kaichou was in the same class as Arou? Her gaze shifted towards Arou's name, which was separated from her own by a thick, black line drawn between the classes. Gently, she touched her fingers to his name. It was almost as if the line between their names was a solid barrier keeping them apart. But in reality, he was only a classroom away. There was no reason to worry. She trusted Arou, and she trusted Kaichou who was their mutual friend. Kanade didn't think that she needed to worry about Kaichou having any lingering romantic feelings for Arou. That had already been sorted out last year. Besides, from the president's blush that Kanade had seen in one of her glimpses of the future, she was pretty sure that Kaichou's affections lay elsewhere now.

It would be just like last year. She'd have to go find Arou during lunch time and after school. Except this time, she didn't have Eri's constant companionship. She would sorely miss Eri's presence. She had grown used to being able to see Eri whenever she turned around in class.

"AHHH!" Eri's eyes widened as she pushed Kanade away from the class rosters to get a better look.

"W-What?" Kanade blinked, surprised by Eri's loud exclamation.

Eri pointed an accusing finger at Kanade. "You're in the same class as Ezawa! Why oh why..." Eri shook her head wildly, her blonde curls bouncing furiously. "Who determined these classes? They suck!"

Kanade just smiled at Eri's reaction, though in a niggling corner of her mind, she was inclined to agree.

* * *

That afternoon, as Arou spread the tablecloth over the ground, Kanade's mind was still on the new class divisions. She and Ezawa were placed in class 3-4, while Arou and Kaichou were in class 3-3 and Eri was in class 3-2.

She sighed.

A warm hand grasped hers. Kanade glanced up at Arou's worried face, her own distress immediately melting away at Arou's concern.

"Lunch time will always be ours," whispered Arou.

Kanade nodded. Really, there was no reason to worry. Lunch time had always been their special time together right from the start. And even though she wasn't in the same class as Eri, they would never ever drift apart from each other.

"Here, today's special is focaccio bread. I hope you like it?" He flipped open the lid on the basket, revealing six slices of bread within.

"I love it!" she exclaimed, her eyes lighting up at Arou's thoughtfulness.

And yet, as each of them reached for a slice, she couldn't help but notice how little of the food they finished. Several slices of bread remained untouched, among the other unfinished dishes. She nibbled on her bread, an image of a smirking blonde sitting between them, stealing food off their plates, came suddenly to her mind.

"Ne, Arou..." she ventured. "It's almost as if you made enough for three people."

Arou, who had been in the midst of drinking tea, spluttered, and Kanade knew that she was spot on. Arou hastily wiped his mouth and settled his tea cup.

"Well, he did say that he was going to drop by during lunch times. His school's pretty close to ours."

Kanade giggled, amused at Arou's flustered expression at being caught. It was a simple, yet considerate thing to do, and Kanade loved him for that. He and Namiki truly were good friends.

But despite their playful chatter over their missing companion, the lack of the presence of the third in the group left a gaping hole in their midst that wasn't easy to ignore. Kanade's giggles died down as she returned to nibbling on her bread while Arou fumbled around the picnic basket.

That was, until a loud grumble that couldn't be mistook for anything else other than hunger broke them out of their silence.

"If you're hungry, Kanade-" began Arou.

"-that wasn't me," proclaimed Kanade at the same time. They blinked at each other, confused, until a soft, third voice cut in.

"Sorry, that was me."

Kanade turned around, surprised, but a smile soon spread over her face upon seeing Kaichou standing behind her. She had one hand covering her face in embarrassment.

"Why don't you join us?" That came from Arou.

Kanade nodded in agreement, waving her hands over the food to indicate how much of it they had.

Kaichou's eyes locked onto the food and Kanade knew at once that she wouldn't be able to resist. Arou was a superb cook who could make anything look and taste delicious. However, despite her hunger, Kaichou's eyes swept past the food to ask the question that must have been her original reason for wandering over to them.

"Where's Namiki? Strange to see him not with you two." But right after she voiced her question, Kaichou clamped her mouth shut, as if surprised at her own question. She scratched her head, her eyebrows furrowed as she reasoned out her own answer. "Never mind. I know he graduated already. Why would he be here?"

She took a step, seeming as if she were about to take leave, before Kanade grabbed her hand.

Suddenly, her world was filled with pink petals.

_Falling and falling and falling. They danced and they whirled and they drifted around Kaichou, enveloping her in a world of pink, kissing her long strands of hair. A pale hand reached out to pluck one of the petals from Kaichou's hair, an almost intimate gesture. Kanade's heart skipped a beat, but no, that hand couldn't have belonged to Arou, whose complexion was darker than before due to his constant tending of his fields. She wished that the petals would part so that she could actually **see**. Her hands darted out to part the pink curtain in the way of her sight, but to her surprise, her hands went right through the petals._

She blinked and shook her head, noticing that her hands were still clasped around Kaichou's. Her blank out must have been extremely short for Kaichou not to have noticed much out of the ordinary.

"Come on and have some food!" she said instead. "You seem hungry."

That earned Kanade a hesitant smile from Kaichou, who was still a bit embarrassed, though she did not decline the offer. She sat down and accepted the piece of bread that Arou passed to her with much thanking.

Arou caught Kanade's eyes, one eyebrow raised to question her what she _saw_. Her slight pause had given her away. She just smiled at him, reassuring that it wasn't something to worry over. Though perhaps, Arou would want in on her plan.

She never saw the owner of the hand, of course, but she did have a pretty good guess. And sometimes, she didn't need to see to know what she was supposed to do. She had already planned on it. For once, she was trying to help the future along instead of trying to prevent it.

"Ne, Kaichou," started Kanade, "would you like to join us to go flower viewing this weekend?"

After all, Namiki was going to be there too.


	5. Overflow

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> ohanami, flower viewing

"Namiki-san, over here!"

He saw Kanade waving at him, an exuberant smile on her face, one that caused him to smile inadvertently in return. He waved back as he made his way over towards the crowd.

Indeed, Kanade wasn't the only one there. Obviously, Arou came with her and had chosen the seat next to Kanade. Nowadays, Masahiro doubted he'd ever see Kanade in a situation where Arou wasn't present. They were just...always together. Joined at the hip, as the saying went. Kanade's best friend Eri was nearby as well, though she seemed to be off in her own little world, chattering with her boyfriend Eizawa. What surprised Masahiro was not the usual crowd, but the person sitting to Kanade's left, slowly sipping tea and only glancing up when Kanade yelled out Masahiro's name, announcing his presence.

It wasn't an unpleasant surprise.

"Woof!"

And it seemed that Marota agreed.

Tail wagging, the puppy leapt forward, pulling on his leash, causing Masahiro to tumble forward.

"All right, all right, I'm coming along!" Masahiro sped up his steps, watching amusedly as Marota bounded over to tackle the tall blonde sitting on Kanade's left. She laughed as Marota licked her face, slobbering her with wet, doggy kisses.

He finally caught up to Marota, slowing his steps down to a gradual stop.

"Yo, Kaichou." He said in greeting, his appearance slightly disheveled from his impromptu run.

Patting Marota's head as an attempt to calm him down, she slowly raised her head, her hair sliding off her shoulders in the process, glistening gold under the sunlight. Laughter still danced within her eyes thanks to Marota.

"I'm not your president anymore, you know, now that you've already graduated. You don't have to keep calling me that," she teased as she reached to tuck her hair back behind her ear.

He blinked. "Ah, you don't mind, I hope?" Her nickname of sorts had rolled so naturally off his tongue. He hadn't even given thought to it beforehand. He supposed it was because he had always associated that title with her. Someya. Kaichou. One was a name and one was a title, but to him, they were one and the same, differing only in familiarity.

She tilted her head, her hair falling loose again. "It's not that I mind, but why would you want to keep-" She paused, wary of his impish smile. "What?" she ventured.

"Well, it's endearing, don't you think?" he teased her in return.

She sighed, though her eyes were still dancing. Masahiro noted that her face seemed slightly pinker, but that was probably just his imagination due to all those pink petals surrounding them. One of those cherry blossom petals drifted down towards Kaichou, sticking to her hair, which she was constantly trying to tuck behind her ears. Her hair, like the petals, kept flowing, unwilling to be restrained. But she kept trying, the motion so ingrained, for Kaichou must have been growing her hair out for quite a long time. Again, she reached to tuck her hair behind her ears. The motion disengaged the petal. He watched it fall, mesmerized. The petal landed on the ground, joining the countless others, spreading across the ground like a pink carpet. Kanade and Arou, he noted, were holding hands like always, and had since moved from the picnic blanket to sit among the petals instead.

"Suit yourself then," Kaichou replied finally after a pause, knowing that Namiki, when his mind was set, was actually quite stubborn and very hard to be persuaded otherwise. Instead of arguing, she patted the area next to her. "Why don't you sit down?"

Before Masahiro could react, Marota barked once, tail still wagging, as he sat down right where Kaichou had indicated. He held his head high, proud of himself.

"Marota!" exclaimed Masahiro. He pulled on Marota's leash, but Marota wouldn't budge. He barked again and tugged back, thinking that his owner was playing a game with him. Kaichou laughed once again, and Masahiro found that perhaps he should just let Marota be. He sat down grudgingly, Marota in-between Kaichou and himself. He allowed himself to relax with Marota's warm presence next to him. He leaned back, his arms supporting him, as he listened to the murmurs and snatches of conversations of the others around them. His eyes followed the petals that danced in front of him, filling his vision with never-ending pink. His gaze locked onto a solitary petal as he watched it drift towards Kaichou, getting stuck on her hair just like all the previous petals.

Unbidden, really, his hand just moved on its own, he reached out to her hair, barely brushing her hair as he plucked the petal out. On reflex, a reflex born from countless hours of watching that one person bring a flower to her mouth, a slow, genuine smile spreading across her face, seen only by his eyes and by the flowers he gave her, he held the petal to his mouth, the fragrant scent tickling his nose. His eyes closed, he breathed in the scent, and again pondered what might have been. A sad smile, for it could be called no other, appeared on his face. After a moment's pause, he opened his hand, the wind soon taking hold of the petal, bearing it away on its swift currents. When he finally glanced back up, he was startled to see Kaichou's eyes on his, and beyond her, a Kanade who quickly directed her attention elsewhere.

Kaichou looked up wondrously, running her hands through her hair, as if fishing for the right words.

"Well...thank you," she finally murmured. "Do I have any more of those petals in my hair?"

Masahiro mentally shook himself out of his stupor, and found in himself the ability to grin. "No," he replied. "But I don't think it matters..."

With those words, he bent down, gathering a handful of those pink petals in his hand. Kaichou's eyes widened, but before she could react, Masahiro threw the petals into the air, letting them drift back down again in an overflow. His open laughter graced the air, the laughter reaching his eyes, and Kaichou found herself laughing along with him.

"The look actually suits you well," he said, his grin wide.

"Oh yeah? Right back at you!" She gathered petals as well, throwing them into the air. Kanade and the others soon joined in, and Marota jumped into the countless piles they happened to create, barking along with their laughter. Their laughter was loud and rambunctious. Perhaps they were distracting for the rest of the people there who were watching the cherry blossoms, but that day, Masahiro saw no one outside his circle of close knit friends.

Kaichou was once again tucking her hair behind her ears, but the motion wasn't enough to dislodge all the petals from her hair. He couldn't stop grinning, though he knew that he must have just as many petals in his hair right now as she did.

But he felt a strange sort of satisfaction that he was, indeed correct.

The look did suit her well, after all.


	6. Look Over Here

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> uniforms and lunchtime

Masahiro's college didn't require him to wear a uniform. As a result, he was often seen in a pair of slacks and a loose t-shirt, which was very casual and very different from the formal white-collared shirts he had worn for high school. Although he blended right in with the other college students, it was an entirely different matter among the high-school students.

At Kanade's high school, Masahiro stuck out like a sore thumb. Everyone who passed by their lunch table hesitated, perhaps wondering about who the heck he was and why he wasn't wearing a uniform. Everyone looked his way.

He was the only person not in uniform among all the students.

The attention, although undesired, wasn't unnerving. In the past, he might've felt cornered with all those eyes on him. Too much attention meant that his power could easily be discovered. Unlike Kanade or Arou though, Masahiro had never deliberately tried to hide his power. Either people discovered it, or they didn't. It was as simple as that. That didn't mean that he actually liked or wanted people to discover his power though. With discovery came distrust and accusations. He hated seeing those fake smiles in his presence, hated those shaking hands, those looks of disgust. Perhaps he had learned, without realizing it, to shy away from attention, to blend into the crowd even though he had been born a performer, a person who naturally attracted attention.

He had learned to lock it all away.

But now, these prohibitions of his had faded away. None of it mattered, not when Kanade was right next to him. Arou was there too, of course. Masahiro supposed that he could think of Arou as an extra that came along with Kanade.

For Masahiro, the unwanted attention was easily ignored. He continued eating his share of their lavish lunch as if he wasn't the center of all the gossip. Kanade, on the other hand, was turning this way and that, glancing almost bewilderly from one passerby to the next.

There came whispers from the student body, mostly from first years who hadn't been in the school when he had still been a student there. Others came from students who had never seen him before, though he was pretty sure that the three of them, Kanade, Arou, and himself, were actually quite famous.

"Who's that sitting next to the dark-haired boy?"

"You mean Otsuka-san?"

"No, the guy wearing black."

"I don't know. Is he a student here?"

"I've never seen that guy around here before..."

"Nonsense! He appears out of nowhere everyday during lunch!"

"Why the heck is there French cuisine anyway?"

"I've heard that Naitou-kun is a superb cook..."

"And I've heard that Naitou-san's a wonderful kisser!"

Masahiro spluttered, almost choking on his drink as he tried to suppress his laugh. That really came out of nowhere. He glanced at Kanade, who was currently blushing furiously and trying to hide her face. The rumor must have come from _somewhere_. Perhaps Kanade and Eri gossiped over...he shook his head, amused.

"What? You've never heard of them? They're the famous lunch trio!"

Masahiro finally gave in, unable to stop himself from reacting to all the whispers. He manage to suppress his laugh, though a smirk was ever present on his face as he pointed his finger at Arou.

"We've been dubbed the lunch trio!"

Arou snorted. "I prefer 'lunch couple' over 'lunch trio.'"

Masahiro pretended to scowl as he lunged towards Arou.

* * *

Kanade laughed easily as the two of them got into a heated fight over the name of this little group of theirs. Despite Arou's words, her boyfriend had actually been the one to set out the third set of plates.

"Aren't you all the center of attention today," greeted the class president as she walked by, holding a handful of papers.

Kanade looked up. "Kaichou!" she exclaimed, stopping the taller girl in her steps.

Kaichou's eyes roamed over the three of them. "Ah, seems like my previous statement wasn't entirely correct." Her eyes stopped at Namiki. "It seems like _you're_ the one attracting all the attention, Mr. College Student."

Namiki shrugged, a teasing smile spread over his face. He held his arms up helplessly and exclaimed, "It's because everyone appreciates my presence just that much!"

Arou muttered into his cup, "I don't."

Namiki cupped his ear. "What was that?"

Kanade shook her head, laugher dancing her eyes. She looked back up at Kaichou. "Kaichou, why don't you join us?" she suggested.

Kaichou shook her head, lifting the papers up for Kanade to see. "I still have work for the school committee to finish."

Namiki raised his eyebrows. "You're only a few weeks into school. And yet, you're already skipping lunch to do all this work?"

The tall girl almost scowled as she shuffled through the papers. "These papers are important. If I don't finish all of this quickly, the other people won't be able to start on their part. There's always so many new clubs and new rules and such that come with a new school year. Somehow, these clubs always turn their forms in at the very last minute, making processing so much more..." She trailed off when a hand thrust a bowl in front of her.

She glanced up from the papers in her hands. Namiki nodded his head towards the bowl of steaming soup in his hand, the soup almost spilling over the edges at his sudden movement.

"You work fast. You're efficient. You don't have to skip lunch to finish what you can easily finish later," he pointed out.

Kaichou looked back down at the papers in her hand, wondering if she really could afford to delay them until later.

"Besides," added Namiki solemnly, "you're way too skinny."

She laughed. "That's not a good way to convince a girl to eat! You're not even the one who made the food..." She let her sentence trail off as she glanced towards Arou, not noticing Namiki's sudden frown.

The dark-haired boy smiled warmly at her. "I don't mind. We have plently to spare. Eating lunch is really important."

She relented finally, putting the stack of papers down. She brushed her hair away from her face and accepted all the food that Namiki started placing in front of her.

"Soup, appetizer, oh, here's the main dish, hm, some bread, ah, dessert..." murmured Namiki as he piled food in front of Kaichou.

"Woah, stop! I can't nearly eat this much!" she protested.

Namiki finally stopped and returned to nibbling on his own piece of bread.

Meanwhile, Kanade and Arou glanced towards each other, a smile tugging on their lips.

"I think we need a new name for our little group," said Kanade. "I don't think 'lunch trio' even covers it!"

Arou smiled in return. "I agree."

Masahiro nodded absentmindedly as well, not actually hearing what Kanade and Arou were talking about. Intently, he watched Kaichou try to finish her lunch. He wasn't entirely joking when he said that she was too skinny. She didn't nearly eat enough for someone of her height. It wasn't healthy just how little she paid attention to herself, always placing others before herself. Strangely, that reminded him exactly of someone else he knew.


	7. Superstar

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> basketball game between the two younger brothers

"Namiki-san, you came!" shouted the exuberant voice. Masahiro raised a hand in greeting towards the tall, dark-haired second year. Last year, Kanade had seen that the dark-haired boy, who at that time was still a first year, would get hurt while skateboarding with his friends. Masahiro had stepped in with a 'friendly' warning on Kanade's behalf. That should have been the last he saw of the other boy.

Except, it wasn't.

Masahiro hadn't really expected to run into the other boy again...until the boy turned out to be Kaichou's younger brother.

Normally, people never understood. They only became frightened and wary. This boy was much the same. Masahiro didn't explain anything, only telling him bluntly that he could see the future. He even asked the other boy if he wanted Masahiro to see when his death date would be, even though Masahiro's power wasn't nearly that strong. It was one of his bad habits...trying to scare others off before they get close enough to hurt him. He had been sure that the boy whose future he had helped change would turn a disgustingly nervous smile at him...

The boy didn't and couldn't understand, and yet, despite not understanding a thing, despite Masahiro's trying to scare him off...

For some reason, the other boy's smile was so natural.

Even now.

Was it something that ran in the family?

The now second-year Someya Shiya wore a wide smile on his face as he approached his senpai. Masahiro remembered how warm and how utterly safe the Someya household had felt. Masahiro had to wonder what it was like to be able to smile so freely all the time, to be able to bask in such a warm household. He admired the easy relationship between the two Someya siblings. Masahiro's ability to see the future had hurt far too many of his relationships with his family and his friends than he cared to keep track of. Even when he wasn't thinking about his ability at all, like the time when he had put his hand over his younger brother's forehead to soothe him from his injury...his mother had been frightened. He hadn't even given a thought to his power to see the future and yet it was always at the foremost of his mother's thoughts concerning him.

He didn't like being defined by his power. He refused to be controlled by his power. He was the one in control. He was the one with control over his power and not the other way around. If he couldn't lock away his power altogether, then at least he was going to benefit from it!

He smiled wryly. Perhaps that was why he was able to see at will and not just accidentally.

"Thanks for coming to the match! I didn't think you'd have time to come when I asked." Someya's words broke Masahiro out of his thoughts, and somehow, an easy smile came over Masahiro's face as he replied, though he didn't realize himself that he was smiling.

"College is a breeze," answered Masahiro. "It's the entrance exams that are hard. The actual thing's a joke. I don't have to spend all my time studying, you know."

Someya laughed. "For you, it's probably a breeze! You were at the top of your class! For me though, I'll have to study hard. I'm not that great with academics, unlike my older sister. I'm hoping to get a basketball scholarship though." Someya's voice adopted a nervous tone as he continued, his eyes darting around the gym, scanning the crowd. "I really hope we win this match...I've heard that scouts might be coming..."

"Want me to see if you'll win?" Masahiro asked innocently, his finger barely touching Someya's hand as he accepted the free water bottles that the boy was passing out to everyone who entered the gym.

The other boy paled. "Uh...no! That'll take the excitement out of everything!"

A clap sounded, causing the younger boy to glance over towards the benches. "Oops, the basketball match is starting soon. That's the coach telling us to gather. I should head over to the team now! You'll stick around hopefully?" Someya was looking at him, eyes just as hopeful as he sounded. It was as if Masahiro's previous jibe about seeing the future didn't affect him at all...as if it was such an ordinary thing to joke about.

"Of course, why else did I come?" replied Masahiro. The younger boy smiled happily and headed off. Masahiro covered his eyes, amazed by the people he was surrounded by. How had he become so lucky?

Masahiro could hear the coach's loud pre-game lecture even from where he stood all the way on the other side of the gym.

"Today's match is against Baitou High," announced the coach's booming voice. "I expect all of you to..."

Masahiro's head snapped up. Baitou High? That was Junya's school! Masahiro started scanning the gym for signs of his little brother, and sure enough, there he was coming through the door.

Masahiro watched as his younger brother chatted happily with his teammates and made up his mind. The past was set in stone and couldn't be changed anymore, but the future was different. He hated how awkward things had become between him and his brother. It was time to change that.

"Junya!" shouted Masahiro as he approached his younger brother.

Junya glanced up, surprised. "Aniki? Haven't you graduated from here already...?"

"Of course I have. Doesn't mean I can't come back to visit," said Masahiro.

Before Junya had a chance to answer, Masahiro clasped his hand on Junya's shoulder, noticing that Junya didn't tense from his touch. Masahiro finally remembered how Junya had never ever been afraid of him. Masahiro had let his hurt over his mother's wrong assumption that Junya had been the one to leave her flowers cloud his own judgment of his brother. He had been merely a jealous, older brother.

"I just wanted to wish you good luck with the match today. I know you'll play beautifully." He smiled and left for the bleachers, leaving a flustered Junya behind.

Junya's pulse was faster than normal, from both the excitement of the upcoming match and from his brother's encouragement. His brother had wished him good luck with the match, and..and he smiled! Junya felt pumped for the match and just a tad bit resentful. Junya was happy that his brother was able to smile like that now, but why couldn't he have smiled like that at home?

He bent down to tie his shoelaces, hoping to hide his red face from his nosy teammates.

How was it that one simple smile from his brother could leave him so flustered and so happy?

Junya fingered his metal necklace and kissed it for good luck.

* * *

"No one's sitting here, I hope?"

It was in the last quarter of the game when that voice made Masahiro look away from his brother's intense play. For some reason, his heart made a little leap when he saw just who was standing next to him, her head tilted inquisitively to one side. It was probably the shock of seeing her here after school, he told himself. Kaichou was, after all, the class president, and spent much of her time organizing school matters. Masahiro hadn't expected to see her at this basketball game.

When he answered that the seat was free, she beamed at him and sat down, shuffling the papers on her lap.

"I didn't expect to see you here," said Masahiro curiously.

Kaichou sighed and held up a piece of paper, as if that answered everything. When she saw that it didn't, she just pointed at the top of the paper where it said "Basketball club."

"Ah, more work for the school council?" asked Masahiro.

Kaichou nodded. "I have to oversee various clubs to determine what the right amount of financial backing is for each. The baskeball club is one of the last few. Seems like I've missed most of my little brother's match already though."

She glanced at him, and Masahiro answered before she even asked the question.

"Your brother asked me to come when he saw me last time. He was so excited I couldn't refuse," supplied Masahiro. "Surprisingly, my little brother is one of his opponents."

Kaichou's eyes lit up. "Really? Which one is he?"

Masahiro pointed towards Junya. "See the guy with the messy, blonde hair wearing a number 7 jersey? That's Junya."

"Both my younger brother and yours are key players on their teams. What a coincidence!" Kaichou's eyes danced.

"Indeed, isn't it, especially since their older siblings aren't into sports at all!" commented Masahiro.

Kaichou was amused. "Since a lot of the older players have graduated, Shiya's now one of the more prominent regulars on the team. He's particularly excited about today's game because if they win this match, they'll be able to advance to the next division."

"He mentioned that there'd be scouts here today too," murmured Masahiro.

Kaichou started. "Scouts? Here?" Her eyes roamed the bleachers, most likely wondering who amidst the audience were actual scouts.

Masahiro discreetly jerked his head towards a dark-haired, middle-aged man wearing a plain buttoned-up shirt and then towards a lady wearing bright red lipstick "Those two are scouts for sure. They're going to shake your brother's hand later and ask him how long he's been playing. I don't know if there are more though."

"How do you know that's what's going to happen?" wondered Kaichou. She looked towards her brother with a small frown. "He doesn't seem to be playing that well right now."

Masahiro's eyes quickly darted back to the game, hoping that Kaichou hadn't seen them widen with the slip. His previous statement must have sounded weird for those who knew nothing about his power. He was far too used to joking around about his power. It had been one of his traits that his younger brother resented him for, though Kanade and Arou indulged him in the behavior, and Someya Shiya just brushed it off as friendly joking.

He suddenly realized that while Someya Shiya knew about his power to see the future, his older sister did not. Shiya could have told her and Kaichou would have most likely believed him. Their sibling bond was very strong and Kaichou was always willing to listen and to consider everything thoroughly before dismissing anything.

Shiya could have told her, and yet he hadn't. Masahiro had never thought of it that way. He had almost forgotten that Kaichou didn't know. He felt so comfortable in her presence that he had forgotten. Very rarely in the past had he ever felt relaxed in the presence of those who didn't know because he knew it was all pretense, that once they found out, their behavior would change. He'd much rather prefer those disgusted looks, no matter how heart-wrenching. At least those were real and not faked.

But Kaichou...he knew her smiles weren't pretense, and that they wouldn't change even if he told her.

Somehow, that thought made his heart pound extremely fast.

He licked his dry lips. Was this how Kanade had felt when she tried to confess to Eri about her ability to see? Masahiro had never had the need to confess. He always joked about his power, and even used it occasionally to threaten someone he didn't like. He had never ever truly wanted to share the knowledge with someone who didn't know already.

As he was wondering about how to phrase the entire thing, a loud bell sounded the end of the game. He glanced up, surprised, his eyes flying towards the scoreboard. Kaichou stood up clapping her hands loudly. She had a huge smile over her face.

Masahiro was entranced by it.

She pointed her finger towards the end of the court and looked back at him eagerly. "Did you see that? Shiya did a beautiful lay-up right before the end of the game, passing through the entire defense of the other team! Lay-ups used to be his weak point. At that moment, I could feel it. Everyone's eyes were focused on him. Even though his team didn't win, it was as if Shiya were a superstar, the center of everyone's attention." She continued smiling proudly as she gathered her things, ready to go down there to congratulate her brother.

Everyone's attention had indeed been on the winning basket for the game.

All except Masahiro's.

Together, they made their way down from the bleachers. Masahiro glanced around until his eyes landed on his younger brother. He excused himself from the happy Someya siblings to congratulate his little brother on his win.

"Junya! You played great today," said Masahiro.

Junya shrugged. "I could've played better..." He let whatever sentiments he had about the game trail off as he noticed who Masahiro had just parted ways with.

"Who's that tall girl you were talking with?" asked Junya, suddenly feeling mischevious.

Masahiro blinked and looked towards where Junya was pointing. "Ah, that's Kaichou..."

"She's much prettier than that other girl you were with, you know," teased Junya. "I approve." He nodded sagely.

Instead of letting Junya tease him, Masahiro turned the tables.

"Heh, so you have a thing for older women with long, flowing hair?" he teased.

Junya blanched. "Aniki! That wasn't what I meant!"

Masahiro just laughed. "I'm kidding. But anway, I was going to add that she's Shiya's older sister before you interrupted me."

Junya blinked. "No way. She's his sister? They don't look a thing alike!"

Masahiro glanced towards the Someya siblings. "Oh trust me, they do look a like."

"How?" asked Junya, utterly bewildered.

"Their smiles."


	8. Our Distance And That Person

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> after the basketball match.

True as Masahiro had predicted, two scouts approached Kaichou's younger brother right after the match. Although their school had not won, Kaichou's brother had truly played well near the end of the match. Almost everyone's eyes had been on him. Masahiro watched expressions of amazement and embarrassment flicker over the younger boy's face as the two scouts talked animatedly with him.

Kaichou stood slightly apart from her younger brother, pushed off to the side by the two eager scouts. She glanced at her younger brother and then back at Masahiro, a thoughtful expression adorning her face.

Masahiro met her eyes.

People walked between them. Snatches of conversation--"Hey, I'll see you tomorrow then!" "Want to come over later?" "No way, you kissed her?"--drifted to his ear. But none of these truly registered, for Masahiro only saw her.

Here was the perfect chance, wasn't it? She had just seen one of his predictions come true. Kaichou was a smart person. She must have felt that something was a little off. She might think that it was a lucky guess on his part, as any practical person would think, but it was as good a place to start as any...

"Aniki."

Masahiro jumped at the sudden voice. He glanced to the right where his brother was scowling at him, his connection with Kaichou lost.

"Have you heard anything I said in the past minute?" asked Junya.

"No...sorry," replied Masahiro, his heart beat finally slowing down.

Junya huffed. "Well, these scouts are talking with my captain right now, so my team's probably not leaving just yet. I was wondering if you wanted to go out and shoot some baskets..." Junya paused, glancing over at the Someya siblings, a slight smile tugging at his lips. "But I think you'd rather stay here and make lovey-dovey eyes at Someya over there."

Masahiro scowled, his face reddening. He bopped Junya on the head.

"That's Someya-san to you, you brat."

"What, no comment about the lovey-dovey eyes?" asked Junya as he rubbed his head.

Masahiro rolled his eyes. "I was not making eyes at her. You wanted to shoot some baskets right? Come on, let's go."

Without letting Junya say anything else, Masahiro pulled Junya towards the outdoor basketball courts. He spared a backward glance at the Someya siblings, noting that Kaichou had somehow engaged herself in the conversation with the two scouts. She had a bright smile on her face, one that was mirrored closely by her brother.

...he hadn't been making 'lovey-dovey' eyes at Kaichou...had he?

"Fourth basket!" shouted Masahiro as his basket went in. "It's now 4-4, Junya. I've caught up."

Junya scowled. "You don't have to be so proud about a tie! It's just a tie!"

"Ah, but I'm not the one in the basketball club now, am I?" asked Masahiro.

"No..." admitted Junya reluctantly. "Really, I don't see why you didn't join the basketball club. You're good, I give you that."

Masahiro shrugged as he went to pick up the ball.

"We used to do this a lot, didn't we?" asked Junya in a small voice. "There was this park near our house that we would sneak off to whenever Mom and Dad weren't home. We'd try to pass each other's defense. The hoops were so high back then...such a hard goal to reach. But I remember...Aniki, how you kept trying and trying. I could never win against you. But...it was fun."

Junya blinked as Masahiro passed him the ball.

"Stupid Junya. What are you being all sentimental for?"

Junya reddened. "I just miss those days."

"No use dwelling on the past. I'm here now, aren't I?" pointed out Masahiro.

Damn it. He missed those days too. But the past was the past. It couldn't be changed no matter what power he had. Even if he were given the power to change the past...he wouldn't take it. After all, if it weren't because of his running away from home and everything that transpired afterwards, he'd have never met Kanade or Arou...or Kaichou. He would have never learned what friendship was. Oh, he had mutually beneficial relationships, like the one with Ootake Yuusuke...but friends?

Junya nodded. "Aniki." He looked up at Masahiro while dribbling the ball absentmindedly. "Have you considered coming home?"

Home?

_She smiled. She smiled! _

Masahiro looked away, a sad smile on his face. "...not just yet."

"I see," replied Junya, his voice laced with disappointment.

Sensing the awkward mood, Junya quickly tried to change the subject. "Ne, Aniki, you're a good player. You really should've tried out for basketball. I was almost never able to pass your defenses! It was almost like you could tell what I was going to do next..."

Junya blinked, realizing what he had just said. "Wait a minute...tell me you didn't!"

Masahiro just looked back at Junya innocently.

"Aniki!!"

The count was 5-7 in Junya's favor when the ball slipped out of Masahiro's reach and rolled away from the court. He hurried after it, but it kept rolling and rolling until it stopped by a pair of impeccably clean brown shoes.

Masahiro glanced up.

"I've heard Shiya mention that you're good at basketball. I see that he was right," remarked Kaichou.

His heart had definitely made a little leap this time upon seeing her. It must have been because of nerves. Junya had distracted him from approaching Kaichou back in the gym, but now that Kaichou was here before him, he had another chance.

He picked the ball up, straightened, and then glanced around looking for Kaichou's brother. Kaichou nodded her head towards the hoops.

"Looking for Shiya? He went off to talk to your brother."

"Ah." Masahiro glanced back and noticed that the two had quickly gotten into a match. He raised his eyebrow, for wasn't he the one holding the basketball? But he supposed that Someya had brought his own.

"My basketball skills are nothing to talk about," murmured Masahiro as he watched the two younger siblings face off. "Those two are the amazing ones."

Junya had grown up somewhere along the way...and Masahiro hadn't been there to see it.

He watched Junya try a feint, but Someya read his intent and stopped him. However, Junya spun around right after and dashed through Someya's defense. Unwilling to let Junya best him, Someya matched Junya step for step, guarding him from the hoops.

Kaichou smiled. "They are, aren't they? They still have so much energy after that long match of theirs. And those two scouts that approached Shiya...it was quite unbelievable. It was just as you said." Kaichou glanced at him, intrigued.

Masahiro smiled back at her. "See? I told you so."

"But how did you know? I don't think I heard your answer," wondered Kaichou.

He was about to answer her directly when the sudden wind blew the scent of onions and turnips over to where they were, causing Kaichou to laugh.

"Oh, this scent. Arou-kun's field must be blooming by now."

"Yeah, it must be," murmured Masahiro. "I remember how depressed he was when you told him he needed to trim his field down."

Kaichou smiled fondly. "That's right...it was around this time of the year then, wasn't it?"

Masahiro nodded without saying a word. The conversation had already headed a different direction. It would be awkward to blurt out to her about his ability to see the future at the moment. Now he really sympathized with what Kanade had to go through with Eri. It really wasn't easy.

She tucked her hair back behind her ear, a faraway look on her face. Perhaps she was remembering the vast fields Arou had been tending.

"It was around this time of the year then..." started Kaichou. "Has it already been a year already?" she wondered. "I felt so silly then. I really thought Kanade was your girlfriend, not his. How wrong I was." She looked at him apologetically.

"I wished you were right then," murmured Masahiro as he bounced the ball.

"...you wished? So you don't anymore?" questioned Kaichou.

He continued bouncing the ball. When he finally spoke up, it wasn't to answer her question.

"Hey, up for some basketball?"

"What?" asked Kaichou alarmed.

Masahiro grabbed Kaichou's hand. Her eyes widened even further. She glanced at their entwined hands and then back at his face.

"The other side of the court is still open. Come on!" said Masahiro.

"But! Basketball? I don't mix well with basketball!" protested Kaichou.

"You won't know until you try."


	9. Dash

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> preparation for the school festival

The school festival was just around the corner and everyone found themselves in a flurry of activity. Masahiro watched students hurry about, his lips quirked up. He wasn't the one who had to worry about deadlines and getting things done on time, which allowed him to view all the running and yelling with amusement.

Though, he distinctly remembered that he hadn't actually been pressed for time during last year's school festival either. In fact, he hadn't even thought of participating then--he wasn't one for school spirit. But somehow, he had ended up as one of the fortune tellers for his class, which had been as easy a role as roles could go. He let his classmates dress him up in those fancy robes while one of the girls did his makeup for him. All he had to do was sit in the booth and make pretty predictions of the future--predictions that were actually appreciated.

He didn't quite remember what had made him agree to take on the role in the first place, but when all was done and over, he found that his classmates had warmed up to him much more than before.

As Masahiro neared class 3-4, which was the class that Kanade was in, he saw a bunch of students in the hallway outside of the classroom. They were painting huge pictures propped up on stands. Kanade wasn't among these students, so Masahiro assumed that she was inside the classroom.

Many of those inside the classroom were sewing. Cloth of all sorts of different colors and patterns was strewn all over the place. Masahiro hoped that the soles of his shoes were thick enough to protect him from any stray needles that might have been lost among the disarray. He thought he saw something shiny on the ground, but when he blinked, he lost sight of it. He hoped he had seen wrongly.

Kanade was indeed in the classroom, though she wasn't among those who were sewing. Instead, she stood in the corner with a thin booklet in her hands, her mouth moving as she read the words to herself.

Masahiro quietly snuck up from behind, peering over Kanade's shoulders at whatever she was looking at so intently.

"I do so wish I could attend the Ball! But oh, I don't have a dress and Mother would never let me," read Masahiro, pitching his voice higher than normal once he realized he was reading a girl's part.

Kanade jumped at Masahiro's voice, for she had been entirely focused on the script in front of her.

"I take it that your class is doing some kind of play?" asked Masahiro once Kanade calmed down and greeted him.

Kanade nodded. "Our class is doing Cinderella. Aiko over there," Kanade nodded towards a short girl who was overseeing two other girls practice their lines, "was the one who wrote the script."

"So, who's Cinderella?" From what Kanade had highlighted in her booklet, Masahiro had a fairly good guess, but he always loved to tease Kanade. She rarely realized she was being teased and always responded so openly.

Just as Masahiro thought, Kanade smiled that bright smile of hers even as she blushed.

"Um, that would be me," she replied. She glanced down at her booklet. "I was shocked when the class voted for me since this is such a big part."

"But you fit the part well," said Masahiro. He could already imagine Kanade in old, dreary clothing with a broom, dreaming about a magnificent ball where she could dance to her heart's desire. She'd transform from an unknown maid to a beautiful princess easily for it was her inner self that shone. Kanade didn't just fit the role well--she fit it perfectly. He could see why she won the vote for that role.

Kanade smiled widely. "I'm going to try my best!"

Masahiro ended up practicing with Kanade. He read the other parts, often acting them out as well--from the jealous stepsisters to the hateful stepmother, from the fairy godmother to the young suitors at the ball--he did them all. Kanade laughed at his antics. She almost couldn't recite her lines because of how much she laughed.

"Namiki-san, if only you were in the class! You do the parts so well," said Kanade.

His lips quirked up. Last year, he had transferred to this school solely because Kanade had piqued his interest. It would have been nice being in the same class, but he settled for being in the same school. Transferring had been one of the better decisions he had made in his life, and even Junya had remarked on how he had changed.

As Masahiro read over the last few lines of the play, his eyebrows shot up.

"The prince leaned over to kiss Cinderella on the lips. And then they lived happily ever after."

Kanade blinked before a full blush hit her and she started stammering. "W-What? I-I didn't know about that!"

"Ah, seems like your scriptwriter neglected to tell you some things, didn't she?" Masahiro was quite amused to see Kanade blushing so furiously and waving her arms all over the place. A sudden thought hit him though.

"Who's the prince?" he asked, since he hadn't come by that knowledge even after all this practice.

Kanade murmured something quietly, too quiet for Masahiro to catch.

"What was that?" he prodded.

She blushed further as she pointed her finger at someone across the room.

Masahiro turned his head, looking for the "prince."

The guy Kanade pointed at had a head of wavy blond hair and a set of exquisite features.

Masahiro's eyebrows rose even further.

It was Ezawa, of all people.

Eri's boyfriend.

Kanade was in quite a situation. If it had been anyone other than Kanade, there'd be a need to worry about jealousy. After all, Kanade was stuck in a situation where both her best friend and her boyfriend had a cause for jealousy. But since it was Kanade, Masahiro was pretty sure that everything would turn out all right.

Masahiro didn't even notice his own lack of jealousy over the staged kiss.

* * *

Arou was in the next class down. Masahiro decided to pay him a visit too before he headed back to his college campus. When he stood outside the door to class 3-3, he strained his neck glancing around the room full of fake cobwebs and half-painted decorations.

"Looking for Kaichou?" asked Arou, who appeared at Masahiro's right. He was all dressed in white. It seemed that Arou's class was doing a ghost house. This would be the second time Arou got landed with the role of playing a ghost.

Masahiro blinked. "What makes you say that?"

Arou ignored Masahiro's question and instead offered information that Masahiro hadn't even asked about. "She's in a school council meeting right now," he said.

A scowl came over Masahiro's face. "Thanks for ignoring my question. Besides, I was here to visit you, you prat." He flicked Arou in the forehead, something that he quite liked to do for some reason. It was nicer than a punch.

This time it was Arou's turn to blink as part of Masahiro's past flickered before Arou. Masahiro supposed it couldn't be helped. Arou's power was like a broken faucet that couldn't be turned off.

When Arou shook his head to clear it, Masahiro was ready to deal with Arou and whatever he was going to throw at him.

At least, he thought he was ready. He never knew what Arou would see, but he was almost always fine with whatever Arou did see. With Kanade and Arou, Masahiro never considered it a breach of privacy. Masahiro was even ready to tease Arou with Kanade's role in the play...

"So, when are you going to tell her?" Arou's expression was solemn, but the tone of his voice was not.

...that, Masahiro did not expect.

But he had already made up his mind, hadn't he?

"When the timing's right, I will," answered Masahiro, his voice firm.

Arou, for some reason, looked satisfied. Masahiro had to wonder why.

* * *

He saw her as he was about to leave. She had just come out of the classroom where the school council meeting had been held. She carried a huge box of stringed lights, reminding him of the decorations she had put around the school last year, almost all by herself until he stepped in to help. It looked like she was about to do the same this year.

Masahiro noted that out of all the students who were frantically preparing for the school festival, Kaichou was perhaps the busiest.

Seeing Kaichou put up all the decorations on her own, seeing how hard she strove to make the school festival run perfectly...perhaps that was the root of why he had decided to participate in last year's festival.

"Kaichou?" he called out.

She tried to turn, but the box of stringed lights wobbled precariously. He hurried over and righted the box, grinning over the box at Kaichou's thankful expression.

"Why don't I give you a hand here?" he suggested.

He supposed he could spare a few more minutes.


	10. Radio Cassette Player

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> school festival continued

Eri spotted her boyfriend the moment she stepped into the classroom. She bounded over from the doorway, her black, puffy dress billowing out about her. It was a dress similar to what her class had worn the year before, except this time there was more lace. Masahiro bet that Arou would love to see Kanade in a dress like that.

"You look sooo handsome in that!" declared Eri as she straightened Ezawa's outfit. He was decked in flashy jewelry and yet did not look gaudy in it, something that few others could pull off. "You're going to be the best prince ever!" continued Eri. "Your class is smart for choosing you."

Ezawa grabbed Eri's hand, his reply too low for Masahiro to catch, but judging from Eri's pleased expression, it was most likely a compliment about Eri's dress.

When Ezawa leaned in for a kiss, Masahiro smirked and looked away from the couple. He was surrounded by happy couples, it seemed, for there came Arou through the doorway, part of his tattered and bloody outfit dragging behind him. He was immediately greeted by a cheerful Kanade who had just excused herself from the director. She beamed at Arou, though when she caught sight of Eri and Ezawa next to them, a wild blush spread over her face instead. She began twiddling her fingers, her eyes lowered.

Something was obviously on her mind. Too bad Arou didn't look like he knew what the matter was.

Masahiro crossed his arms behind his head and leaned back on his chair, his smirk growing wider.

He, on the other hand, knew exactly what was troubling Kanade. It was quite endearing really, for her to be worried about something that her best friend and her boyfriend would undoubtedly not hold against her. If they were to get furious at anyone, it would certainly not be at Kanade. The scriptwriter was a more likely candidate.

Kanade mumbled something to Arou before rushing off, leaving a troubled Arou behind.

The show was about to start.

An ominous presence lurked behind him, that of one protective boyfriend.

"Sit down," said Masahiro, not at all affected by Arou's mood. "Plenty of seats around. No need to block other people's views."

Arou twitched as he sat down.

"You know what's going on," he stated.

The older boy raised his eyebrows. "And how do you know that?"

"Because of that infuriating smirk on your face that says "I know something that you don't.""

Masahiro touched his face. "Why, I didn't even notice that."

Arou twitched some more.

Really, Arou's reactions were priceless. While Kanade got flustered when teased, Arou got silent and twitchy. Masahiro hadn't even meant to tease with his words--he truly meant them. He dropped his hand from his face.

"Oh, it's nothing to worry about," said Masahiro finally, smirk gone from his face. After all, Arou was honestly concerned about Kanade, and that Masahiro wouldn't begrudge him. "You'll see what the entire fuss is about at the end of the play." He paused, unable to resist the last jab. "Or do you want me to show you now and ruin the surprise?"

He extended his hand to Arou. Arou hadn't seen his conversation with Kanade the last time he touched him, but perhaps this time he would. And oh, what a conversation it was...

Arou's hands remained down. "If you say it's nothing to worry about..." started Arou, his voice trailing off.

He turned away, only letting Masahiro see the back of his head.

"Well, I trust your word for it."

Masahiro let his outstretched hand drop, a sudden, fierce grin spreading across his face, taking himself by surprise. He once again touched his fingers to his face, this time in wonder.

* * *

At one point of the play, Masahiro felt someone tap his shoulders.

"Namiki-san?"

"Sensei!" greeted Masahiro, somewhat surprised to see who had approached him.

"Ah, so it really is you. I thought I might have been seeing things," said the homeroom teacher of class 3-4. "How has college been to my top student?"

Masahiro shrugged. "Pretty good. Not too challenging." A bit boring as well, thought Masahiro to himself. He found himself drifting back to Kanade's school a bit too often.

"What are you studying, if I may ask?"

Masahiro hesitated. He hadn't given much thought to his concentration of study before heading off to college. There was nothing that truly fascinated him, but one had to choose a concentration no matter what.

"...business," he replied. Business, a major that would help him in his dealings with Yusuke. It was not a major that Masahiro could say he enjoyed a lot, but at least it was a major that was useful. Masahiro had always done things based on the benefits if not on the enjoyment factor. With success came joy, or so he had believed.

But watching Kanade perform on stage, smiling so brilliantly even when she stumbled over her lines...the audience laughing along with her...heck, he even got the same feeling from watching Arou tend his fields and from Kaichou with all her self-sacrificing...

Sometimes, Masahiro wondered if perhaps he had gotten things backwards.

"Ah, that suits you very well, Namiki-san," commented the teacher. "You'll succeed at whatever you put your mind to, I'm sure." The teacher glanced at her watch. "I'm afraid I must leave now. It's good to see you doing so well."

Masahiro gave a slight bow, still deep in thought as his previous teacher walked away.

"Business?" questioned Arou from besides him. Masahiro had almost forgotten that he was there. "You've never mentioned it before."

The blond shrugged. "It never came up."

"I'm not sure it suits you."

Masahiro waved his hand, dismissing Arou's concern. "You'll miss Kanade's next part if you don't pay more attention."

There was no need to be so concerned about him, thought Masahiro. He was the older one here, after all.

Arou frowned but didn't comment again, the sudden wild applause of the audience too hard for further conversation.

* * *

"Namiki-san! You've got to help us!" pleaded one of the girls from Kanade's class during the intermission.

"What's going on?" asked Masahiro.

"The girl playing the part of fairy godmother hurt herself, so she can't play the part anymore. There's only a few more scenes left!" fretted the girl. She twisted the fabric of her skirt.

"...and so how will I be able to help with that?" asked the blond. He had an inkling of where this was heading, and he didn't like it.

"Well, I heard you practicing with Kanade-chan the other day, so you should know the lines pretty well, right? And you're a fabulous actor. I heard you, so don't deny it! Here, let's get you changing. You can just make up lines on the spot if you forget any," said the girl all in one breath, already pushing him towards the changing room.

Arou laughed quietly. When Masahiro turned to glare at him, Arou just smiled and said, "Have fun."

And so that was how Namiki Masahiro found himself standing on the stage for a high school Cinderella play, dressed in long silk robes and a pair of cellophane wings. He waved his wand around and cleared his throat.

"Cinderella, my magic has long lost its effects. The rest is up to you..."

_Flash._

Masahiro blinked.

Flash photography.

Masahiro had a feeling that somewhere in the audience, Arou was enjoying himself a lot. He was probably recording the entire thing too.

He smirked at the thought and brushed his bangs out of his face. There was no better time to stand straight and tall like a model posing for a photo shoot. He wouldn't give Arou the satisfaction of seeing him less than proud of his role. The teasing wouldn't stop then!


	11. Ten

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> school festival part 3

The end of the play wasn't a blast, but it certainly was entertaining. Masahiro actually found himself enjoying the role of fairy godmother. He improvised on the spot whenever he couldn't remember what his lines were supposed to be...which was almost the entire time. His last scene was a sort of narration about Cinderella's happily-ever-after with the Prince. He was supposed to narrate about how Ezawa was so elated that Kanade's foot had fit perfectly into the glass slipper that he kissed her. That scene would have made both Arou and Eri want to maim the scriptwriter. However, Masahiro didn't quite remember his lines right.

And so he improvised, throwing off the timing of the script, and thus, the kiss. He could see Kanade's classmate wringing her hands out of the corner of his eye. She was probably greatly disappointed that her masterpiece wasn't going the way she wanted. Masahiro wasn't terribly concerned. He was having fun with this.

A flustered Kanade darted her eyes around, not knowing how they were going to end the play without following the script. When he caught her eyes, Masahiro winked at her and mouthed, "Leave it to me," for he was her 'fairy godmother' after all.

"The Prince took one of Cinderella's dainty hands and, look at that! He's about to propose!" said Masahiro, knowing that Ezawa would know to follow. Ezawa knelt down in front of Kanade and took one of her hands, his expression unreadable. Kanade blinked, her eyes suddenly far away, the telltale sign of being suddenly immersed in the future. Masahiro groaned inwardly. Perhaps he shouldn't have had Ezawa take Kanade's hand.

Ezawa, thankfully, wasn't looking at Kanade too closely and the audience was too far away to tell anything out of the ordinary. Ezawa closed his eyes and brought Kanade's hand to his lips, leaving a chaste kiss on the back of her hand.

The crowd cheered just as Kanade snapped out of her vision. She blinked confusedly for a moment, her eyes wandering to seek Masahiro's, before realizing that Ezawa was holding her hand. She could still feel a lingering sensation on the back of her hand.

"May I ask for your hand in marriage?" asked Ezawa, his face as dazzling as ever.

The girls in the crowd swooned. Eri cheered and screamed, "KYAAA!! EZAWA!!"

Kanade nodded even as she blushed, only to turn redder when Ezawa swooped her up bridal style.

"And so, they lived happily-ever-after!" claimed Masahiro.

Kanade glanced his way again as they both exited the stage. Something was on her mind.

* * *

When Masahiro was finally able to make his way back to Arou through the crowd, he immediately noticed the tall blonde next to Arou. Although the classroom was bustling with students, his eyes easily found her in the crowd. She was one of the few people in the audience who wasn't in costume, like one who had stumbled into a fairytale. But instead of looking out of place, she looked the part of the main character in all her simplistic beauty. She needed no magic to stand out. For once, the thick stack of papers she always lugged around with her was absent. She was shuffling through something else, and she did so with a smile. Smiles certainly didn't follow paperwork.

As he got closer, he saw that the stack she was shuffling through...was a stack of photographs. Kaichou would stop at a photograph, smile merrily, and then hand Arou the photograph she was just looking at, pointing out whatever it was that had caused her to smile.

"Those aren't photographs from the play, are they?" asked Masahiro, announcing his presence.

Arou held up his camera, which turned out to be a small black camera that wasn't a Polaroid or a digital camera. "They're not developed yet," replied Arou. The dark-haired boy looked at Masahiro with a perplexed expression. "Kanade-" he began.

"Oh right," cut in Masahiro, already knowing what Arou was about to ask and feeling no need to keep teasing Arou now that the play was over. "She was worried about the ending."

"The ending?" mused Arou. "Other than your acting, it was pretty good. She didn't have to worry about that."

"Hey, I made the best out of the situation," claimed Masahiro. Kaichou quietly laughed at his indignation as she straightened the photos. His lips twitched into a half smile at the sound of her laugh.

Masahiro coughed into his hand, still trying to sound indignant. It was hard when his facial features kept betraying him. "Anyway, you should thank me for that. The original kiss was on the lips."

Arou's eyes almost bugged out. It was quite a comical expression that Masahiro almost grinned. The other boy only ever lost his composure with matters concerning Kanade. Their relationship really was something extraordinary.

Masahiro jerked his head towards the stage where Kanade was being bombarded by congratulations from the other students in the class. She had her hands in front of her, probably frantically denying any contribution to the success of the play. "She's still over there."

Arou gave him a nod as he stood up. "Thanks."

Whether Arou was thanking him for telling him where Kanade was, or whether he was thanking him for averting the crisis of the kiss that would have complicated matters for everyone, Masahiro didn't know. It could have been for both, but either way, that one tiny word spoke volumes. Masahiro inclined his head, acknowledging Arou's gratitude.

The dark-haired boy's eyes were on Kanade, watching her with concern. "Did she tell you what she saw?" he asked.

Trust Arou to be able to tell that Kanade had one of her visions again all the way from where he was sitting in the audience. Trust Arou to conveniently forget that Kaichou was right next to them, able to hear every single word they were exchanging. There was no way that Kaichou wouldn't get suspicious from words like that. What was Arou's intention? Well, of course Arou was concerned about Kanade, but he normally guarded his words much better than this. Masahiro was the one who was a lot more careless about their abilities. Not Arou.

"No," replied Masahiro slowly, wondering what Kaichou was making of this conversation. There hadn't been time during the play to ask Kanade what she had seen, and by the time they had finished taking their bows, Kanade had been caught by her scriptwriter while he escaped.

Arou frowned. "Well, I'm going to save her from her classmates. Be back later." He glanced back at Masahiro, his eyes quickly darting over to Kaichou as well. "Have fun with those photos. I'm sure Kanade would love to see them too," he added before he hurried off towards Kanade. His quiet apologies as he bumped into people drifted back to Masahiro's ears, and soon he was too far for Masahiro to hear.

Masahiro almost sighed as he plopped himself down in Arou's vacated seat. Arou had left him in a difficult situation. Just what was he going to tell Kaichou? Was now the time? Was that what Arou had been planning? Was Arou trying to give Masahiro an opening for him to pounce on, or was it a sign from Arou that he was fine with their shared secret being known for revealing his secret meant that theirs would no doubt come out into the open as well...

"What was all that about?" asked Kaichou as she handed Masahiro a photo before he was even able to answer.

Masahiro took one glance at the photo before all thoughts of secret powers and hard choices and betrayed expectations flew out of his mind. "Where'd you get this?" he asked with a grin. He was clothed in his fortune teller garb in the photo while Arou had blood trailing down his face. Arou's arms were around Kanade, who was in turn hugging a service tray close to her body. Her smile was wide and carefree and his own had closely rivaled hers.

Kaichou grinned. "We have a lot of photos in the school council room from last year's school festival. I thought you guys might like to see the ones that you're in." She held up the small stack of photos in her hand, spread out in a fan-like fashion as if she were holding poker cards. "There are ten or so photos. Want to go through them all?"

"Of course!"

The photo he picked next turned out to be of him in his fortune telling booth. His eyes were closed, in the midst of a memory of the future that had not yet come about. He was holding the hand of a girl he didn't personally know. She was one of the countless customers he had last year who had come to ask him for advice on her relationship, and he had been surprised to find himself happy to impart whatever he could without giving too much away. It had been a strange feeling, being part of everyone else. He had felt like a normal high school student enjoying the school festival, despite the fact that he had been using his powers to bring those smiles to those girls' faces. They had appreciated him for his powers, even though they hadn't known what exactly had been behind those 'predictions' of his. He remembered that he had been glad that he had decided to participate in the school festival. Being merely a bystander would have been lonely.

And that was it, wasn't it? He was glad that he was no longer a bystander.

"Are there any photos of you?" asked Masahiro suddenly as he sifted through the photos. One photo showed Kanade and Eri in their cafe. Another photo showed Arou in the dark ghost house, the photo itself almost too dark for Arou's figure to be discerned. There were more photos of Masahiro too, but none of the photos seemed to show the school's hard working class president.

"Of me?" questioned Kaichou, surprised.

"Who else?"

Kaichou blinked. "Well, I didn't think they'd be interesting, so I didn't take them from the school council room."

Masahiro raised his eyebrow. "I'd like to see them."

She laughed. "All right, but let me tell you upfront. I wasn't in costume nor was I part of any of the activities. I was just lugging around my thick stack of papers like usual. I don't know who snapped such a boring photo." She tucked a stray strand of hair behind her ears. "Well, I best be going now. I need to make sure the lights I hung turn on at the right time. If you're still around later, come find me if you still want to see those boring photos. I'll stop by the school council room for them."

Kaichou was always working so hard behind-the-scenes to make sure everything went right. He had thought for sure that he wouldn't enjoy the school festival, but Kaichou's simple "If you don't try it, how would you know?" had spurred his interest.

"Thank you," murmured Masahiro as Kaichou started getting up.

Kaichou turned back, her long hair trailing behind her. "Eh, for what?"

Masahiro smiled and held up the photos. "I'll be sure to show these to Kanade."

She smiled in response.


	12. Ano Sa

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> school festival part 4

With the play out of the way, Kanade was free for the rest of the day, though Eri and Arou both needed to return to their respective classes. Eri had her maid cafe and Arou had his ghost house to return to. Kanade looked down at her hand, the one that Ezawa had held during the play. She missed the sly grin that crossed over Namiki's face, her only warning before a hand reached out to grab her.

"Eeek!" gasped Kanade as Namiki pulled her close to him. She was almost up against his chest and could feel the rumbling as he talked.

"I guess this leaves Kanade all to myself!" he exclaimed.

Arou frowned darkly and proceeded to pull them apart, releasing her from Namiki's hold. Kanade breathed a sigh of relief, though it was short-lived as she fumbled to calm them down. Arou's overprotective tendencies were adorable though, and she thought she knew why Namiki liked to embrace her. He, like her, wanted to be touched but at the same time was afraid. As someone who shared the secret, Kanade was safe.

She wondered if Namiki was trying to reach out to Arou through their fights. There was certainly no shortage of contact there! Even now, they gripped each other's hands tightly as they tried to push each other down.

While the two boys bickered, Eri and Ezawa were off in a world of their own, oblivious to the trio's antics.

"Come to my cafe?" asked Eri, her eyes sparkling. Ezawa nodded, weaving his fingers in with Eri's as he ran his other hand through her short hair. When Kanade finally heard what the two were talking about, she scrambled to butt in.

"Um, Ezawa-san, let's go see the ghost house!" exclaimed Kanade suddenly.

All heads swiveled towards Kanade at her loud exclamation. She blushed at the attention and twiddled her thumbs. "Since uh, I didn't get to see last year's ghost house and um, Ezawa-san didn't either right?" At the end of her stumbling explanation, she raised her head and smiled widely.

Eri narrowed her eyes, looking back and forth between Kanade's nervous smile, Ezawa's blank expression, and Arou's concerned one. "I'd really rather he come to my cafe instead. I'll be so lonely if all of you leave me!" she said carefully.

Kanade glanced around at a lost. If she pulled Ezawa with her to Arou's ghost house, then Eri would really be all alone. Arou, Ezawa, and herself were all unavailable. Her eyes brightened when they landed on Namiki. "Namiki-san can accompany you then!" she blurted, hoping that would solve all the problems. She looked pleadingly at him, willing him to agree. She had to get Ezawa to stay away from the cafe.

Namiki raised his eyebrow. It made her feel like he knew exactly what was going on in her mind.

"I didn't volunteer myself, but..." he shrugged. "I could use a drink. Lead the way, Eri."

Eri pouted. "Oh, all right, as long as Ezawa doesn't mind...and all of you should drop by afterwards!"

* * *

"Your drink."

She placed the iced tea down in front of him, the tea sloshing in the glass. After surveying the room, she set her tray down as she plopped into the seat across from him.

"Isn't it still your shift?" asked Masahiro. He took a sip of the iced tea, the cool liquid soothing his parched throat. He hadn't realized how dry his throat had become from speaking so much during the play.

Eri waved her hand in the air. "I'll get back up if someone needs their order taken." She licked her lips. "Besides, that doesn't matter. I have something to ask you."

Masahiro pushed the glass in front of him. He had a good idea of what Eri wanted to talk about. Eri was a perceptive person, even though her usual brashness seemed to speak otherwise. She was outgoing in ways that Kanade was not, and together the two friends balanced each other. Sometimes, like the time with Arou and the traffic accident, she could hurt someone without even knowing it, but she always had everyone's best interest at heart. Masahiro wasn't actually very close with Eri. He knew her as Kanade's friend, and then he knew her as someone who was in on their secret, and though she didn't completely understand, she tried her best. She was trustworthy.

"Kanade saw something, didn't she?" asked Eri in a hurry. She really was perceptive.

He barely nodded before she started firing her questions. "When? What? How? Who does it involve? Ezawa??" her words ran into each other in her rush. She leaned forward against the table.

"Woah, stop with the barrage of questions!" exclaimed Masahiro as he tried to think of just where he should start. He didn't know much, and he had rarely ever found himself in the need to explain such a situation.

"Most importantly, why didn't she tell me anything? I can help!" said Eri finally with a frown. She looked down from him, glaring at nothing in particular. The closest thing was his poor, innocent glass of iced tea. "Am I that unreliable?"

"And here I thought you were glaring at her for stealing your boyfriend," said Masahiro nonchalantly. He rested his face against his hand, watching amusedly as several expressions ran across Eri's face.

"What? No! Of course not! I was just suspicious that something was up..." Her words stopped abruptly. Something seemed to _click_.

"...oh."

She clenched her fists, her eyebrows furrowed. "Damn, I did it again, didn't I? Was that how I appeared? Did I hurt her?"

Masahiro grasped his straw and swirled the clinkering ice around the glass.

"Don't worry, I'm sure she didn't take it that way. We're talking about Kanade after all."

Eri breathed an audible sigh of relief. She slumped back against her chair, her eyes closed for the briefest moment. Masahiro watched as relief swept over Eri, and he watched how she quickly put away her relief to focus on the situation at hand. With her eyes focused, she asked about what she could do to help. He grinned against his straw. Eri had not once turned away from Kanade even after she knew. Instead, she was even more protective than ever.

Eri held out her hand. "Can you take a look at my future then? Maybe that might help? Oh wait, you can't see the future just like that can you..."

Masahiro almost laughed. Here she was, even asking him to take a look at her future to help her friends! He didn't know if she was truly that unafraid of their powers, or did she want to help so much that it overrode any fear she might have had?

"I can see whenever I want to, unlike Kanade. There's very little chance I'll see what Kanade saw however," murmured Masahiro, "but it's worth a try."

He lightly grasped her hand. "Are you sure you want me to take a look?" he asked.

Eri nodded resolutely.

He closed his eyes, focusing on seeing Eri's future. The world around him vanished, as did all of his previous thoughts.

_There stood Eri in her puffy black dress. The tea shop was void of customers though the tables still needed to be cleared. Kanade peaked in from the doorway, unnoticed by Eri. She disappeared back into the hallway before pulling Ezawa into view. She pushed him towards Eri, and with a wave, she backed out of Masahiro's vision._

_"Ezawa! You're here!" Eri turned around and jumped into Ezawa's arms. He swept her up in a circle, twirling in the middle of the classroom. Ezawa leaned down, and without exchanging another word, he pressed his lips against hers--_

Masahiro snapped out of the vision. Seemed like someone got their happily-ever-after.

"What did you see?" asked Eri eagerly, her hand tightening on Masahiro's.

"You and Ezawa kissing," he replied.

"WHAAAAAT?" exclaimed Eri, jumping out of her seat and dragging Masahiro halfway up as well with her grip on his hand. She quickly let his hand go, and he slid back into his chair gratefully. "That's all you saw? That doesn't help at all! It's useless!"

"Pretty much," replied Masahiro in a shrug. "But I take this to be a good sign. Whatever bad future Kanade had seen, it seems to have already been averted. The future's not set in stone after all."

Eri blinked. "Oh, well, that doesn't sound too bad." She picked up her service tray with a sigh.

"Is it always like this?" asked Eri. "All this worry about what might happen...I never noticed how much Kanade had to go through. I feel like an idiot, smiling so happily when she's always been worrying like this!"

"You keep on smiling," murmured Masahiro. "It makes it all worth it for Kanade."

* * *

When Kanade had wanted to confess to Eri, Masahiro had supported her decision. Only the slightest doubt had plagued Masahiro. It came from his cynical side that refused to believe that there could ever be anyone who would wholeheartedly accept people like him, like Kanade and Arou. When Eri had flinched from Arou's touch after the traffic accident, his heart had plummeted along with Arou and Kanade's, but Eri had pulled through. She had not meant to be cruel. She had only wanted to protect Arou from seeing the bloody accident site.

Since his powers had surfaced, he had been alone. His mother smiled those quivering smiles. His brother stared at him with those shocked eyes. His father turned his back on him. His relatives murmured behind his back about his abnormality, and no one protected him from those hurtful words. They all turned away from him, leaving him to fend for himself.

He had been alone, and that had made him cynical.

But then came Kanade with her welcoming smiles and her acceptive nature. Next there was Arou, silent in his understanding, steady with his protectiveness. Marota soon became a new addition to his household, along with a still unnamed turtle. Recently, Ootake Yusuke was a lot less gruff with him, and then there was Eri and Kaichou's younger brother Shiya. Even Junta was opening up to him more. One by one, his world widened, leaving the darkness behind.

He was no longer alone. He reached out to Kanade, and now he found himself warm and comfortable. If he dared to reach out again, what would he find? Were rejection and betrayal waiting for him, or would he find acceptance and friendship? Was he strong enough to reach out once again? Kanade and Eri's relationship was something to be admired. His time spent with Eri today made him want to believe that perhaps...

After leaving the maid cafe, Masahiro wandered around the school. He dropped in at Arou's ghost house and had a good time scaring the ghosts that were supposed to scare him. He went back with Kanade to her classroom to help them put away the props. Afterwards, the trio wandered around visiting various booths. He ended up eating several servings of food from the booths. At one point, he lost sight of Kanade and Arou. No doubt they were stealing some time for themselves. He absentmindedly stared at the skewer of goma dango he held in his right hand.

He continued wandering around, poking his head into various classrooms. He finally found her in the deserted classroom amidst the battered remains of the ghost house. The props that had been carefully constructed were now scattered haphazardly across the floor. Kaichou was in the corner of the room, picking up the white sheets that her classmates had used to drape over the fake furniture.

"There you are," commented Masahiro.

She looked up, tiredness radiating off her. But despite her exhaustion, she smiled widely at him. "Were you looking for me?"

Masahiro nodded, holding out the skewer of goma dango. "I bet you haven't eaten anything since morning."

She lit up at the offering. "Goma dango! I certainly can use something sweet right now." She glanced at him questioningly. "But this is yours, isn't it?"

"I've already eaten my share. This is for you." He shoved it towards her once again, and she accepted with a quiet chuckle.

As she savored the sweet dango, she continued tidying up the place. Masahiro knelt down to help her. Kaichou looked so tired and lonely in the midst of those white sheets, and the messed up classroom only made it feel like a war and been fought and lost. He was about to ask her if she was okay when she filled in the silence herself.

"What do you think of today's festival? Do you think it went smoothly?" she asked, eagerness tinting her speech.

"It was...fabulous." Everything had been on schedule, and if there had been any complaints, Kaichou had taken care of it right away. "Everyone had fun." Including him, and he wasn't even part of the school.

"I'm relieved," she murmured as she started folding the white sheet that she had picked up.

Masahiro watched her in her task and frowned. "You don't exactly looked relieved to me. Just tired." He paused. "And sad."

Her hands stilled. "Really? I hadn't noticed."

_I hadn't noticed._

How many times had those exact words caught himself by surprise in the past year? His brother had commented on his smile. He hadn't noticed that he was smiling so widely, so freely. But not noticing when one was happy wasn't a bad thing. When you finally did notice, it was like an extra gift, a gift that had crept upon you unnoticed. But sadness...not noticing when you were sad and then noticing...

"I don't know why I'm feeling this way. Maybe...maybe I just wanted to be part of the crowd for once," murmured Kaichou. "This is utterly unlike me. I mean, I LIKE my work. A lot."

She was always the one behind the scenes making sure everything went the way it was supposed to be. When people had problems, she was the one they went to for help. But after all was said and done, who was there for her?

"I'm just being silly, aren't I?" asked Kaichou, still not looking up from the white sheets in her hands. "I was watching Kanade in that play. She just looked so cute, and I couldn't help but think that she fit the role so well. If it had been me...I would have made a total mess out of the situation. I'm not at all suited to be a princess. I'm gangly and tall and boring and-"

He didn't know what had come over him, but he moved forward and pulled those sheets out of her hand, surprising her out of her speech. He threw the sheets around her with a grin.

"Who says you're not suited to be a princess? You look just the part even in white sheets."

She was speechless long enough to make Masahiro wonder if he had perhaps done something he shouldn't, but when her quiet laughter rang throughout the classroom, relief flooded through his entire being at finally seeing her spirits up.

"A princess in white sheets! But I won't be a very good princess without a knight." She glanced mournfully at the white sheets that weren't entirely...white anymore. "And now the sheets are sticky because of the dango!"

"Forget the dango, you must be blind if you can't see the knight standing right in front of you!" claimed Masahiro. He knelt down grandly, extending his hand.

"May I have this dance?" he asked.

She nodded, laughter still dancing in her eyes, the lost look gone from her face. She finished off the dango and tossed the skewer into the trash before placing her hand on his.

Although Kaichou was one of the most sensible people he knew, she was not insusceptible from the silly fairy tales of princesses and their knights. Though she did not dream of happily ever afters and true love kisses, she did dream of finally having someone who understood her, who understood that she was not just the person who made everything right, that sometimes even she needed to rely on others. She was a compassionate being strongly ruled by reason, but that wasn't why he knew that she would understand.

He pulled her close in the middle of their dance, his face against the side of hers. His heart pounded loudly in his ears, and he wondered if she could hear.

"I have something to tell you."


	13. Kilohertz

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> school festival part 5

The setting sun bathed the classroom a piercing red, the long shadows stretching across the room until they almost touched the other side of the room. Masahiro gracefully took two steps backward, completing their impromptu dance. He leaned back against his left foot, pulling their hands taut in front of them.

She stepped back at the same time, her hand tightening on his. Kaichou's long hair, strawberry blond in the dying light, shadowed her face completely. He could not see what expression she wore, and that did not help calm his nerves.

The sudden flapping of wings as some passerby disturbed a flock of birds outside roared loudly in the silence that hung over the classroom. Kaichou jerked up at the unexpected noise, pulling her hand loose from Masahiro's, her hair trailing in a graceful arc behind her. Dark patches blotted the two of them in alternating patterns, until at last the glowing sunlight splayed over them without hindrance once again as the last beats of the birds' wings grew faint.

When she turned away from the window, he saw that her face was flushed, or was that just from the dying sun?

It felt like it had been hours for Masahiro, but he knew that it had been mere seconds since they stopped dancing. The classroom had fallen silent, but he couldn't tell for his heart was beating furiously, the beats loud and fast, in frequencies that rarely ever overtook him. Why was his heart beating so fast? Many people had found out about his power before, all of whom he had never sweated about their reaction. There was no reason for him to be as nervous as he was now about his current situation.

But even when his mind told him so, his body said otherwise.

"You..." came the soft murmur, almost a whisper, so quiet that he almost thought it was his imagination.

Had he spoken out loud? No, no he hadn't...it was Kaichou who had spoken.

"...you're not going to confess to me, are you?" finished Kaichou, her tone light.

"That's the idea..." he said without thinking. He trailed off when Kaichou's eyes widened, an audible gasp escaping her lips. She flushed even redder, red enough that he knew it wasn't a trick from the setting sun. His mind did somersaults before finally catching up with his words and their implications.

He felt a ton of bricks hit him.

He blanched.

He waved his hands frantically in the air. "Wait! It's not what you think! I'm not confessing in THAT way." He covered his face with his hand as he felt himself flushing bright red. When was the last time he had ever felt this embarrassed? His mind immediately flashed back to the time when he had accidentally stumbled upon a very naked Kanade coming out of the onsens. THAT was different though. Any sensitive guy would get embarrassed in a situation like that, and if not, there was something wrong with that guy!

Why in the world was he feeling embarrassed now? He didn't recall feeling like this when Kaichou had given him those cookies last year or when they had stolen a secret dance at the end of the Christmas party. It didn't make sense.

As he tried to puzzle through his feelings, a soft laugh reached his ears. Masahiro peeked through his fingers at Kaichou. She still had those white sheets tied around her waist in a makeshift dress. Her supposedly pristine dress had a sticky stain next to where her right hand rested, courtesy of the goma dango Masahiro had brought Kaichou . The sheets were halfway dragging on the floor, a better mop than the one currently stashed in the corner, forgotten in the wake of their dance. It was surprising that neither of them had tripped on those much too long sheets. Masahiro raised his eyebrow at Kaichou, only managing to make her laugh harder. She doubled over, clutching at her stomach and shaking as she laughed.

Laughter was infective. A chuckle came first, and soon after he found himself laughing along with Kaichou's hearty laughter. She wiped a finger at her eyes and nodded apologetically at him.

He didn't know how his sudden urge to cheer Kaichou up had led to where they were now. It wasn't supposed to have turned out romantic or even the slightest bit silly, but somehow it did. Of all the times to finally decide to tell Kaichou, why had he chosen to do so in the middle of a dance? With timing like his, it was bound to cause misunderstandings.

"So, what did you want to confess to me, if not your undying love?" asked Kaichou, one finger held to her lips thoughtfully.

"I wanted to tell you that..."

He felt his heart calming, his throat loosening. Their shared laughter had been therapeutic, helping to soothe his frayed nerves. He caught her eyes, capturing her full attention.

"I have the power to see the future," he said without further preamble, as calmly as if he were talking about something as ordinary as the weather for the day.

The words were out.

They hung heavily in the air. There were no beating wings or noisy students loitering outside the classroom to break the silence this time. She stared at him, her eyes wide. She definitely had not expected him to confess such a thing.

"What?" She exclaimed finally, the pinkness in her face receding, only to leave confusion in its place. Hers was not an unexpected reaction. They didn't see each other that all that often, and when they did, he had never given her much reason to suspect--other than the time at the basketball game--and who really would make such a leap of logic when his slip of tongue could have easily been ascribed to astounding deductive reasoning instead? Or just plain good guesswork? Or maybe even insider knowledge? Anything was more believable than the truth.

He knew that Kaichou was a very logical person who dealt with things as they came, one hurdle at a time. While that might stop her from believing him, he also knew that it would help him persuade her if only he provided her with the right evidence.

"I can see a person's future if I touch them," he explained, which really did nothing to help clear her confusion. "It's a power that I've had since I was young."

He had been young then, too young to realize that pointing out people who were going to die soon was just not done.

"...oh." She blinked, not knowing what to say to that. "You're...serious about this. You really are trying to tell me that you can see the future. Or am I reading things wrong?"

"I really am trying to tell you that I can see the future," he replied. "I know it might be hard to believe, but it's true. I can show you if that helps."

He held his hand out, fully prepared not to feel her warm clasp around his.

"You mean, you're going to try to read my future?" she asked. She glanced at her own hand, her only hesitation before she lightly laid her hand on top of his. Her soft touch warmed his entire being. He was grateful that she was willing to suspend her disbelief even it it was only for a moment.

"...yes, all I have to do is concentrate..."

He closed his eyes.

_He found himself in a familiar environment. He had only been there once, but once was enough to feel the warmth and peace the house exuded, thanks to the family that lived there._

_He was in Kaichou's house._

_Her little brother was taking off his shoes at the door and putting on some slippers when Kaichou herself came through that very door. She glanced at the clock before her eyes zeroed in on the slippers in Shiya's hand._

_"Shiya, you knew? She exclaimed._

_"Knew what?"_

_"He said you knew about his powers!"_

_Shiya's jaws almost dropped, his mind immediately jumping to the wrong conclusions. "Sis! Did something happen to you? Are you hurt?"_

_Kaichou blinked at his query. "What? No, why are you asking?"_

_"How else would you find out? Why else would he need to reveal it?"_

_Kaichou, if anything, was not slow. Now that she knew that such a power existed, it was so much easier to make that leap of logic. "You mean you knew because he had to reveal his power to you or else something bad was going to happen to you?"_

_"Yeah, pretty much. If he hadn't told me, I'd have gone out with my friends and injured myself. I wouldn't have been able to play in any of the basketball matches last year. He's a good guy, Sis," he said earnestly._

_She laughed before placing a gentle kiss on Shiya's forehead. "I don't need you to tell me that. I'm so glad you weren't hurt even though this is all in the past already."_

_Shiya squirmed, rubbing his forehead where she had kissed him. "So nothing happened? He told you, just like that? Why would he do that?"_

Like Shiya noted, he had told her just like that. There had been absolutely no reason...other than the fact that he wanted her to know.

He licked his lips. He had tried to gleam as much as he could from the memory, but the actual conversation had been distracting. Shiya thought he was a good guy. And so did Kaichou. Hearing it directly from them was...touching.

"If all goes accordingly," he started, "you'll arrive home at 7:10. Shiya will be at the doorway, taking off his shoes. He'll be putting on a pair of slippers...I think they were green. With stripes."

Kaichou blinked several times. "Those slippers are new. I just bought them yesterday. Shiya doesn't even know about them yet. So how do you..."

It seemed that luck was on his side. He had hit upon just the right thing. "I said that I can see the future, didn't I? I saw those slippers in my vision." Replaying the scene in his head, he added, "If you're still skeptic about my power, you can ask Shiya about it."

"What? Shiya? Shiya knows?"

Masahiro nodded. "Yes, he knows, but only because I had to tell him then. I'm telling you now not because I have to, but because I want to."

He was going to say more when the door opened. It was Arou.

Masahiro quickly dropped Kaichou's hand, wondering why he had still been holding onto her hand even though the memory was long over. Kaichou glanced at Arou frantically before she hastily said her goodbyes and grabbed her schoolbag as she made her way out the door, bumping into Arou in the process. She bowed briefly in apology, and then she was gone.

The dark haired boy stood rooted at the doorway. He briefly touched his shoulder where Kaichou had bumped into him.

"Well, that was bad timing on my part," he said dryly.

Masahiro covered his face with his hand. "That is totally an understatement."

Arou closed the door behind him, bending down to pick up the white sheets that Kaichou had dropped in her haste to leave.

"Still, congratulations on telling her."

Arou was also a know-it-all bastard.

Incredulous, Masahiro lifted his hand from his face. "What's there to congratulate? I don't even know if she's going to believe me yet."

The other boy clasped Masahiro's shoulder.

"Don't worry, Kaichou will come around."

Together, the two boys finished tidying up the classroom. Their last step was putting the tables and chairs back to where they were supposed to be. While doing so, Masahiro noticed a photo that was faced down on the ground. He bent to pick it up.

It was photo of Kaichou, paperwork held in one hand, melon bread in the other.

He smiled at the photo.


	14. In a Good Mood

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> back at Masahiro's apartment.

Alone in his apartment, Masahiro threw himself on his bed and stared at the empty ceiling above him. His mind was still stuck on the events of that evening. He had finally said it. He covered his eyes with his arm, too tired to move under his blankets.

"Umph!" exclaimed the blond when Marota landed on his stomach, stepping on him with his tiny but powerful feet. Masahiro twitched before picking the puppy up and holding him high in the air.

Clear blue eyes stared back at him, his lucky audience. Masahiro had so much on his mind.

"She was skeptical," murmured Masahiro, "but she let me explain. She thought I was joking at first. You know how she is."

The puppy panted happily and licked Masahiro's face as if in agreement. Masahiro's lips twitched upwards as he tried to move out of the way before more doggy slobber covered him.

He couldn't help but remember how Kaichou had fled from the classroom. What had been on her mind? He had caught a glimpse of her conversation with her brother that was to happen in the evening, but even that didn't tell him much. He was optimistic about what he had seen though. Kaichou had only been indignant in the vision. She had not been angry or frightened or...disgusted, which was better than a good start. But how much of her reaction was because she couldn't fully grasp what his powers meant yet?

Masahiro let his arms drop, his fingers still intertwined in Marota's soft fur.

_The sun was bright. A wide expanse of sea and sparkling sand surrounded him. In front of him, obscured by a large, colorful umbrella, a figure lounged on the beach. All he saw were long, pale legs. His eyes trailed upwards, the pale skin teasingly leading up and up until the umbrella blocked his view and his imagination ran wild._

_The back of a puppy appeared in front of him._

_Marota._

_Marota bounced across the sand, barking happily as he pounced on the person underneath that umbrella._

_Soft laughter reached his ears. He found himself unsurprised when Kaichou's voice came from under that umbrella._

_"Hey there, little guy. Where's your owner?"_

_Masahiro glanced down at himself. He was wearing a long-sleeved shirt, slacks, and...socks, definitely not appropriate for spending time at the beach. Still, he stepped forward, heading towards Marota and Kaichou. Now was as good a time as any other to make his presence known._

_However, before he managed to open his mouth to greet Kaichou, he saw...himself. There he was, making his way over from the stands. He was holding two glasses of fruit punch, complete with little umbrellas decorating the drinks. This other him was dressed appropriately for the beach, swimming trunks and all._

_The other him handed one of the drinks over to Kaichou, their hands barely touching. Even though Masahiro still stood a distance away from them, he was able to see the wide smile that graced Kaichou's face._

_It was a natural and easy smile._

With a jolt, Masahiro pulled his hand away from Marota. The puppy yipped at the sudden tug.

Masahiro blinked, his eyes darting around his empty room before focusing on Marota in front of him. He had just seen Marota's future, hadn't he? For a moment, he thought he had fallen asleep and was caught in a dream about Kaichou, but it hadn't been a dream. It was the future. He had just slipped into a vision of the future without even realizing it.

With his near perfect control of his power, Masahiro normally only saw the future when he wanted to. He had to concentrate hard to see the future. Visions never crept up on him and surprised him like that, unlike Kanade's experience with her power. Visions never just _happened_ without prompting. Was this how Kanade felt whenever her power took a hold of her? The vision had come so suddenly that it had been hard to separate the vision from his own imagination.

What was happening to his power? Had he unknowingly wanted to see what the future held? His power hadn't surprised him like this since he first discovered he had such an ability. Masahiro hoped that it had just been a fluke, like how he found the future hard to see whenever he wasn't feeling well and couldn't concentrate.

He absentmindedly scratched Marota behind the ears.

The glimpse of the future had surprised him, but he was glad to have seen Kaichou's smile. She still smiled naturally at him even with the knowledge of his power.

Things were going to be all right.

* * *

Ugh. Heavy. Something was squashing him to death.

Masahiro sat up with a jolt, launching Marota off his chest. He picked Marota up. The puppy was still sound asleep.

"You again..." sighed Masahiro. He tossed the puppy back onto the bed and got up to stretch, his muscles sore from the position he had slept in. The room was relatively dark with the closed curtains, so he padded over to the curtains to pull them open, letting bright sunlight flood the room.

He shaded his eyes against the bright sunlight, marveling at the clear blue sky. It was bright and early, and the flowers were kissed by morning dew. He had a feeling that it was going to be a beautiful day.

The smell of pancakes drifted to his nose.

His stomach rumbled at the thought of warm pancakes for breakfast.

...wait, pancakes?

Someone was in his kitchen!

Masahiro didn't even bother changing out of his pajamas before he ran out of his room to the kitchen. His mind must have still been half asleep, or else he would have remembered that he had entrusted his keys to one other person. Besides, intruders were unlikely to be sticking around making pancakes for him.

Half panting, Masahiro righted himself at the doorway to the kitchen. "Oh, it's just you," he managed.

Over his suit, the man wore the only apron that Masahiro owned--a simple, green-checkered apron. With his hair slicked back, his cigarette lit, and his glasses fogging up, Ootake Yusuke looked entirely out of place in Masahiro's kitchen. However, he flipped the frying pan up quite expertly to turn the pancakes over.

"I must be the only one you greet so enthusiastically, Masahiro," commented Ootake.

"What are you doing here?" asked Masahiro, entirely ignoring Ootake's comment.

"You haven't forgotten that you're going to give me a reading today, have you?" asked the older man. He set out two plates and divided the pancakes between them. After he washed the frying pan, he got out Marota's dog bowl and the turtle's feed. Although Ootake looked entirely out of place in the kitchen, he looked entirely at home doing Masahiro's daily chores.

Masahiro shook his head as sat down at the table. "No, but I was going to meet you later today at the restaurant, like always."

The older man snubbed his cigarette out. "Well, I wanted to catch you before your classes in case you rescheduled like yesterday."

The blond dug into his pancakes. "I was at my old high school for their school festival. I told you in advance that I wouldn't be able to make it yesterday."

"I know you're busy with college and staying in touch with your friends," said Ootake. "That's why I decided to catch you bright and early."

Masahiro snorted. "Yeah, so early that I hadn't even woken up yet."

At that point, Marota bounced in, barking happily. He launched himself at Ootake, almost knocking over the older man's plate. Masahiro smirked and continued polishing off his pancakes. Even though Ootake was here early to annoy him, at least he had thought to make pancakes. They were really good.

When Masahiro opened his refrigerator to put away the extra cans of dog food that Ootake had brought out, Masahiro was greeted by the sight of lots of fresh vegetables, fruit, and other food. That Ootake had once again stocked his refrigerator! No doubt the older man was still appalled at the fact that dog food cans dominated Masahiro's refrigerator. Despite his sarcastic banter with Ootake, Masahiro truly appreciated Ootake's concern.

He was in a cheerful mood when he finally sat down to read Ootake's future. He closed his eyes as he grasped the older man's hand, concentrating hard on seeing the future.

_There sat Ootake, newspaper propped up like always. Masahiro stepped closer to take a look at the numbers for the stock market that day. He noted the ones Ootake took particular interest in. After he committed them to memory, he glanced at the date to make sure this was indeed tomorrow's newspaper. It usually always was since Masahiro's power only foretold the immediate future..._

_July 16th._

Masahiro snatched his hand away from Ootake, breaking himself out of the vision.

"What's wrong? It didn't work?" asked Ootake. "I thought you might have a good reading today since you seemed to be in a good mood."

The boy blinked. "Me? In a good mood?"

Ootake tapped the corner of his mouth. "You were smiling the entire time. You normally frown during these readings."

"...oh." Again, Masahiro hadn't noticed. Ootake was right though. He had been in a good mood when he went into the memory of the future. He usually thought of reading Ootake's future as a necessary chore, but this time he hadn't minded. Was that why he had seen so much farther than usual?

"So, did you manage to see anything?" asked the older man.

"I did..."

"But? Sounds like you have a but coming on."

Masahiro rolled his eyes. "I did see the numbers. Here, I'll write them down." He grabbed a piece of paper and jotted down all the numbers he remembered. He handed the piece of paper to Ootake.

"What's wrong then?" asked Ootake, glancing at the numbers. They looked about right, though some of the numbers were much lower than his predictions.

The boy laughed once. "I don't know how accurate these numbers will be. They're the stock prices...for more than a month from now."

"What?" exclaimed Ootake as he sat up sharply in his chair.

Masahiro frowned. "Who knows what will happen from now until then? Those stock prices aren't guaranteed."

"No, no, that's not what was on my mind," said Ootake. "Masahiro, have you ever seen a month into the future like this before?"

The blond sat back in his chair. Ootake had caught on to his worry right off the bat. Ootake knew him better than he thought. "No...I haven't. This is a first," said Masahiro quietly. He waved his hand in the air. "It's nothing to worry about though. Here, let me try again."

Despite Ootake's worries about the boy, he extended his hand and let Masahiro read his future again. This time, Masahiro was able to see the stock prices for the next day without any problems.

Perhaps it had only been another fluke.

* * *

When Ootake was putting on his shoes to leave, he noticed a photograph laying haphazardly on the tall table in the hallway. He picked the photograph up and was greeted by the sight of a tall blond girl carrying a huge stack of papers. She was not at all looking at where she was going. The uniform she wore was from Masahiro's high school.

"Hm, what's this?" asked Ootake amusedly. "A photograph of your girlfriend?"

Masahiro scowled as he snatched the photograph away from Ootake. "You jump to conclusions too quickly. She's a good friend." His expression softened as he gazed at Kaichou. She really needed to lighten her responsibilities.

"Was she why you were spending time at your old school yesterday?" continued Ootake relentlessly.

That, Masahiro couldn't deny. The thought of having finally told Kaichou about his power still elated him. He had no need to hide anymore.

"I told her about my power," blurted Masahiro. "I think she's going to be all right with it," rushed Masahiro. He blanched right afterwards. That hadn't been what he was going to say to Ootake! What had possessed him?

Ootake, if he was shocked by Masahiro's words, showed no inkling of his surprise. He chuckled and ruffled Masahiro's hair.

"You're doing fine," he murmured. "I hope to meet her soon!"

Masahiro scowled as he tried to smooth back his hair. When Ootake finally left, Masahiro made his way back to his room. This time, he made sure to stick the photograph in his wallet instead of leaving it lying around.


	15. News, Letter

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> Studying for exams.

The next few days passed by in a blur. After the frenzy that surrounded the school festival, the students now had to settle down and direct their thoughts back to school. Summer was soon to come, but before anyone could relax, there were exams to be taken care of.

When Masahiro visited Kanade that afternoon, he did not expect to see Kaichou at the door too. Her hand was still in the middle of knocking when both of them blurted, "What are you doing here?"

"Same reason you're here, I bet," answered Masahiro. He was here to help both Kanade and Arou with their studies. Especially Kanade. Kanade's scores weren't terrible, but they could use improvement. He wanted to make sure there was no chance Kanade would have to attend extra classes during the summer. Summer meant going to the beach and playing in the waves. It didn't mean staying holed up in the classroom. They'd have to postpone their plans to the beach if Kanade didn't pass her exams, since he certainly wasn't going to go alone with Arou. He wondered, however, if his vision would come to pass, and he'd see that easy smile spread across her face in his presence.

"Don't you have your own studies to worry about?" asked Kaichou, breaking him out of his thoughts. She peered at him curiously, her surprise at seeing him already gone from her face. Her voice was strong without a single waver, her gaze direct and true. He wondered if she had forgotten his little confession, or if she still didn't understand what his power meant. Even her younger brother had been wary of him at first. Masahiro wouldn't begrudge Kaichou for feeling some degree of unease.

Masahiro quickly waved her worries away, never one to dwell on his schoolwork for long. "I have a few projects and one exam, but they're nothing to worry about."

Kaichou frowned, causing him to pause. Why was she frowning? It couldn't be what he had just said--his schoolwork _was _simple, and he was ahead in his studies, though not by much. He could even say that his classes were almost boring him. Was she finally remembering what they had last spoken about? He should ask her if his vision of her future with her brother that day had come to pass...

"You always-" she started.

Unfortunately, or perhaps fortunately, the door opened before Kaichou could finish her sentence. He tried filling in the blank with little luck. He always...joked around? Brushed things off? Spoke cynically? Masahiro could only guess at what she had been trying to say.

"Both of you are here!" exclaimed Kanade, her eyes darting between the two of them. She opened the door wider and gestured. "Come on in!"

Kaichou held up a small, white box tied with pink ribbon. "I brought some cake too, in case studying gets too frustrating."

Kanade clapped her hands together. "Oh, with cake, we'll all definitely have enough energy to get through studying!"

"Just don't let Marota get to it. He likes sweets." joked Masahiro, pulling on Marota's leash as he spoke, remembering the time Marota had slobbered over a wrapped piece of candy. It was strange that the puppy had held the candy inside his mouth for so long, only to drop it in front of Masahiro. Masahiro liked to think that Marota was thinking about him when he did that. It made him feel that perhaps he wasn't such a bad owner after all, even though he still felt that Marota was stupid for picking him over Kaichou and her brother.

The two girls laughed at his words. Marota barked as if he knew they were talking about him, his little tail wagging happily.

Masahiro watched Kaichou bend down to rub her hands through Marota's fur. She spoke to Marota, her lips quirking up at Marota's reaction. Masahiro expected her to be brimming with questions after being told something as outlandish as being able to see the future, but instead she was acting fairly normally.

Perhaps too normally.

He knew he should broach the subject soon. He was usually blunt and straight to the point. He wasn't one to sugarcoat his words. But somehow, the timing didn't feel right, and he found himself stalling again.

He waited until Kaichou entered the house before following after her. He murmured a quiet, "Sorry for the intrusion," before stepping up into the house and removing his shoes.

* * *

Arou was already at the table when they entered the room. Books and loose papers were spread all over the surface, almost covering the entire table. He had an intense look of concentration as he stared at a passage in his textbook. He didn't seem to notice the newcomers.

Kanade glanced at Kaichou and Masahiro and put her finger against her lip. "Shhh." She picked Marota up and tiptoed towards Arou. When she reached his side, she held Marota next to him.

"Arou!" she exclaimed.

"Wha-"

He got a face full of doggy slobber the moment he turned around. Marota yipped happily, his tail wagging wildly.

Arou smiled exasperatedly and held his arms out. Kanade transferred the puppy to him. As Arou petted Marota, he glanced up at the other two in the room, nodding his welcome.

Masahiro had the feeling that Arou's gaze lingered on Kaichou a few seconds longer than necessary. When Arou looked his way afterwards, Masahiro immediately understood what Arou wanted to say just from his gaze.

Masahiro rolled his eyes.

Arou was such a busybody. Masahiro didn't need Arou pushing him every step of the way. Hadn't he already taken the first step?

* * *

As they settled down to study, Kanade's mom brought over the teapot. She spotted Kaichou, who was easily a head taller than her. "Oh, who's this?" asked Kanade's mom curiously as she set out the teacups. Namiki immediately reached over to help her out.

Kaichou bowed politely. "I was in the same class as your daughter last--"

"Oh, are you by any chance Namiki-kun's girlfriend?" asked Kanade's mom excitedly.

Kanade almost wanted to blush from her mom's straightforwardness, but she couldn't say she wasn't curious about where this was heading. She noticed that Namiki fumbled the teacup he had just picked up. It was a good thing there wasn't any tea in it yet. He quickly straightened the teacup and looked up to see if anyone had noticed. Kanade tried looking away innocently, but she doubted she had escaped Namiki's attention. She was terrible at keeping what she thought out of her expression.

"Uh, no I'm uh not..." replied Kaichou. Her entire face was red, all the way up to her ears. The color contrasted greatly with her pale hair. Kanade quickly began pouring tea for everyone in hopes to keep the huge smile off her face, even though she was unable to keep herself from blushing after all. Kaichou could be so adorable at times.

"Ah, was I mistaken?" asked Kanade's mom with a large smile, her hand on the side of her face. "I'm sorry!"

"No, it's all right..." said Kaichou as she glanced between Kanade's mom and Kanade, hit by their similarity. Kanade relaxed, glad that her mother hadn't made things too awkward.

Suddenly, Kanade's mom clapped her hands together much like what Kanade had done at the door.

"Well, do you like him then?"

Kanade's eyes widened. "Mom!" she exclaimed. Inwardly, she was giving her mom a thumbs up, but she also wondered if this was perhaps pushing things too much. Kaichou's blush had returned full force, and Arou was pounding Namiki on the back to stop his coughs from choking on his tea.

As Kanade steered her mother away from the living room, she caught the last snippets of their retorts.

"Droopy-eyed here? Unlikely, no offense," managed Kaichou.

Namiki snorted. "You're way too skinny. Gain some weight first!"

"And who're you trying to convince?" interjected Arou.

They both fell silent.

Kanade shook her head in amusement.

* * *

"If you add this here and do this..." explained Masahiro with a yawn.

"Namiki-san! Have you been getting enough sleep?" asked Kanade.

Masahiro covered his yawn and threw another stack of papers in front of Kanade. "No need to worry about me. Worry about yourself first. Look at those red marks!"

Kanade hurriedly directed her attention back to the problem sets.

He didn't know when he drifted off, but the next thing he knew, he was on the couch. He didn't open his eyes immediately, instead marveling at the softness of Kanade's sofa. He really needed to furnish his apartment better, and get some real sofas instead of the junk he had.

He felt someone brush against him, covering him with a thin blanket. Masahiro reached out and grabbed that person's hand. It was too hot for blankets.

He cracked open his eyes, surprised when Kaichou came into focus. She didn't pull away from his touch, instead pulling the blanket up some more.

"Go back to sleep, you dolt. Clearly, you haven't been getting enough sleep, no matter how easy you say college is," she said. "You never take good enough care of yourself." Masahiro almost laughed. She was one to talk! Instead, he squeezed her wrist lightly.

"You don't mind?" asked Masahiro, the last vestiges of sleep making him forget all of his silly qualms.

Her eyes wandered over his grip. "I mind that you're probably cutting off my circulation," she quipped.

He let go of her as she spoke, still waiting for something to go horribly wrong. He couldn't be this lucky.

His eyes widened when she reached out and took back his hand, weaving her fingers with his. He didn't flinch, but his breath almost stopped.

"Clearly you mind," she commented, and she was right. He tried to be nonchalant about the whole thing, tried to convince himself that he'd have lost nothing if Kaichou chose to ignore him, or if she ended up wary of him. She was just another person at Kanade's school, wasn't she? But he found that he cared. He cared so much more than he thought possible. She was far from a mere acquaintance, far from just a mutual friend.

"I talked to Shiya right when I got home that day," murmured Kaichou. "It's hard to wrap my mind around this, especially when you joke so much, but..." She paused and smiled at him widely.

"I believe you. And I really don't mind." She squeezed his hand, as if telling him, _See? I'm touching you, aren't I? I'm not scared of you._

This was the best news he had heard in a long, long time.

Outside the living room, Kanade's mom put a hand on her face in suprise.

"Ah, it looks like they're about to kis-!" she exclaimed.

"Mom!" chastised Kanade, hurriedly clapping her hands over her mother's mouth. "Don't ruin the mood!"

Kanade peered into the living room, smiling at the sight. They were just holding hands, but that spoke volumes for Kanade, and she knew it meant a lot for Namiki-san.


	16. The Sound of Waves

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> Summer!

Kanade passed her exams safely and managed to escape the fate of staying cooped up in the classroom thanks to Masahiro's help. Now, they were at the beach under the hot, blazing sun. Masahiro smoothed sunblock over his pale skin as he waited with Ezawa and Arou for the girls to emerge from changing. He knew they were getting looks from bystanders, what with Ezawa's striking looks and Arou's dark and mysterious aura. He wondered how others saw him, preferably not as _droopy-eyed_, but he knew he was pretty good looking despite Kaichou's protests. If either Ezawa or Arou noticed the attention, they didn't show it. They only had eyes for Eri and Kanade.

In the distance, Eri cheerfully waved at them. They finished changing much faster than expected. As they approached, Ezawa looked over Eri's flowery two-piece in approval. Like always, they were unafraid to display their affection in public. Eri clasped her arms around her boyfriend, leaning upwards to steal a kiss. On Masahiro's right, Kanade, who was clad in a much more modest one-piece swimsuit that still accented her figure quite nicely, merely rested her head against Arou's, blushing from his murmurings. They were such a sickeningly sweet couple. If they ever kissed in public, Masahiro knew both would blush madly.

All thoughts flew out of Masahiro's mind, however, when he laid eyes on the third figure.

He was far from the only one who was stunned by her appearance. Her hair glistened gold underneath the summer sun, complimenting her simple, two-piece swimsuit. He never noticed how long and slender her legs were until now as he watched her walk over. She was still too skinny, he decided, especially now that he could see her flat stomach. She looked like a model who had just walked out of a photoshoot. Her beauty would only be heightened more if she relaxed her rigid stance.

A whistle broke him out of his admiration. He heard Eri smack Ezawa on the head for that. Kaichou laughed, her self-consciousness melting away in the midst of her friends. She glanced over at him, perhaps wondering what he thought. He grinned and ran a hand through his hair.

"Like what you're seeing?" he teased as he posed.

Kaichou stared at him unbelievably before she doubled over in laughter, her finger pointing shakily at him. "I-I can't believe you!" she managed in between her laughter. She laughed even harder when Marota pounced on Masahiro's back, causing him to fall to his knees on the sand.

Giving up, Masahiro rolled over to lay down on the sand instead, letting the sun bathe over him. It felt good to be here, the sound of waves soothing in his ears, the sand warm behind his back. Looking up at Kaichou, he grinned cheekily.

"By the way, I like what I'm seeing."

Kaichou blushed and scowled all at once.

"Marota, what do you say to burying him in the sand?"

"Hey, wait, no fair conspiring against me!" he exclaimed as Kaichou started piling sand on him. Marota soon followed, digging into the sand with his little paws excitedly, knowing exactly how to bury things.

Eventually, Kanade and a smirking Arou helped dig him out of the sand so that they would have enough members for beach volleyball. Ezawa and Eri immediately formed a team. Kanade and Arou formed the second team. It figured that the couples wanted to stay together. That left Masahiro with Kaichou, not that he was complaining.

Ezawa and Eri faced off with Kanade and Arou in the first match. Arou received all the balls he could, letting Kanade set the ball for him to smash. Sometimes however, Ezawa hit the ball straight at Kanade. She had to hit the ball up, leaving Arou to set the ball. Kanade's smashes were weak and easily returned. The next time, Arou tricked the other team by smashing the ball instead of setting. He smirked at Ezawa's widened eyes. Eri wasn't able to rescue the ball even after diving for it, but that only fueled her enthusiasm.

Even with Arou's quick hit, Kanade and Arou still ended up losing the game due to Eri's athleticism and Ezawa's power. Eri dived after every ball, unconcerned with falling into the sand. Ezawa's smashes were fast and hard to receive.

Masahiro cracked his knuckles.

"Are we ready to win?" he asked Kaichou.

"Of course," she replied, bumping her fist against his.

The second match was Ezawa and Eri against Masahiro and Kaichou. Masahiro served a quick one, trying to dominate the pace of the game from the start. Kaichou's height helped in blocking, but she was less agile than Eri. They put up a good fight against the stupidly affectionate couple, but in the end, they lost too. Kaichou breathed heavily, bent over with her hands on her knees. She didn't have the stamina to play through the entire match.

Eri grinned and shared a high-five with her boyfriend. "Sweet! We're the champions!"

In the last match, both Kanade and Kaichou were too tired to play. They set the ball when it came their way, but otherwise, they watched in amusement as the two boys tried their hardest to best each other.

* * *

After beach volleyball, Masahiro was sent to buy drinks for coming in last during the games. He ordered Kaichou to stay put, since she was barely able to stand on her feet anymore. When he came back with all of the drinks balanced precariously, he almost spilled them when he saw that Kaichou was resting underneath a colorful umbrella, just like what he had seen in his vision, his vision of the future that he had nearly forgotten about. He slowly passed out the other drinks, his mind far from the present. When he got around to Kaichou, she smiled an easy and natural smile even as her hand brushed against his. When had his power become this strong? Was it really just a fluke? He had seen weeks into the future instead of mere days.

He didn't have time to dwell on it long. Kanade suddenly whirled around after a kid ran into her, explaining hurriedly about how the kid was going to get a cramp while swimming. Kaichou quickly scrambled up to follow Kanade. Masahiro saw her watching Kanade rub her arm absentmindedly, the place where the kid had smacked into her. Now that Kaichou knew about his power, he could tell that she was easily making the connection with Kanade. There was no time to wonder if she had figured it out. They had a kid to save.

Masahiro quickly caught up with the kid, pulling the kid to a stop. He focused and tried to see the kid's future. What he saw made him grimace.

"Stay out of the water, okay?" he said finally.

The kid frowned. "What? Why? Let go of me already!"

Masahiro let go, holding his hands up to placate the kid. He knew how utterly out-of-the-blue his request was.

"You should take it easy."

The kid shook his head. "I have no idea what you're talking about."

Arou stepped in, placing a hand on the kid.

"You hurt your leg this month. It hasn't healed completely. You should stay out of the water."

The kid's eyes widened. He slapped Arou's hand away, tried to back up, tripped, and fell backwards into the sand. "H-How do you know that?" He scrambled up, trying to get away as quickly as possible. When he finally managed to get to his feet, he ran away without looking back. Arou still had his hand in midair.

"Well, I'm sure he'll have second thoughts about going swimming now," commented Masahiro. He had been about to scare the kid from going swimming himself, much like how he had handled the case with Kaichou's brother. Arou, on the other hand, hadn't scared the boy on purpose. He clasped Arou on the shoulder. "Don't let him get to you."

Arou let his hand drop. "Yeah..."

Behind them, Kanade finally caught up and thanked both of them for helping divert the kid's future. Kaichou had also caught up too, her steps slowing down when she saw Arou touch the boy. Her steps stopped all together after Arou had started speaking to the boy.

The waves crashed against the beach but not loudly enough to drown out what she must had heard.


	17. Red

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> summer festival and fireworks

Kaichou didn't ask. Namiki didn't explain. Kanade knew what she had to do, knew what Namiki wouldn't do. It wasn't his secret to tell.

That evening when the girls parted from the guys to change into their summer yukata for the festival, Kanade pulled Kaichou aside. It was now or never. If she waited, she'd only convince herself out of saying anything.

"I can see the future," said Kanade as she dropped Kaichou's hand. If she had been wearing her school uniform, she'd have twisted the ends of her skirt. Instead, she fingered the ends of her sleeves, hoping that would still her shaking. She knew Kaichou was kind, but she had only ever confessed to Eri before.

She had nothing to fear, for Kaichou smiled gently.

"I thought as much. Thanks for letting me know."

When Kaichou reached out to clasp Kanade's hand, Kanade tried her best not to shy away, but her involuntarily twitch must have given her away. The taller girl paused, her smile falling away. She looked down at her hand.

"It's not you," Kanade explained hurriedly. "I'm just afraid that I might see something accidentally. I'm sorry. It's a hard habit to get rid of. "

"You don't have to apologize." said Kaichou. She shook her head. "In fact, I want to apologize for not considering what it's like from your side."

She paused, her eyes hesitant.

"Is it the same for him?" Kaichou asked quietly.

This, in turn, wasn't Kanade's to tell.

* * *

Masahiro's thin yukata wasn't quite thin enough for the summer heat. He fanned himself with the paper fan he had acquired at the festival's entrance and passed the extra one to Kaichou. Kaichou murmured her thanks as she pulled the fan open, the sound of crinkling paper joining the low hum of the festival.

Marota's warm body didn't help with the summer heat. Carrying the excited little dog in his arms was not fun. Marota's tail thumped against Masahiro's chest every time they passed a food stall, the little puppy squirming to escape Masahiro's arms.

"Stay still!" exclaimed Masahiro exasperatedly.

"Here, let me, " offered Kaichou with extended arms.

Masahiro handed Marota over with one hand. "He's all yours. He's great to cuddle with in winter but not at all during summer. He's way too energetic."

As if to prove Masahiro wrong, the puppy settled down in Kaichou's arms and calmed down immediately, his tongue lolling.

Kaichou patted Marota. "What a sweet little puppy you are!"

Masahiro eyed Marota accusingly, wondering how Kaichou was able to handle him so easily. The puppy turned his head up, licking Kaichou on the face. Kaichou laughed and kissed Marota on the nose.

Marota was such a lucky dog.

* * *

The six of them tried their best to stay together as they explored the stands. Masahiro steered far away from the goldfish stands. The last time that he'd been at one of these festivals, he ended up with a new pet turtle. He didn't need to add goldfish to his list of pets. Turtles were all right, but keeping Marota from eating the turtle was such a chore. The turtle just had to join Marota in squashing him in the morning too.

Eri and Kanade soon gravitated towards the handmade jewelry stands, giggling over the intricately carved rings and pendants. Kaichou followed behind them at a distance with Marota safe in her arms. When Kanade noticed Kaichou trailing behind, she turned back and pulled Kaichou along, the two girls sharing a secret smile.

Eri pulled on Ezawa's yukata and pointed at a ring that caught her eye. "Get me that one!" she exclaimed. Her boyfriend obliged and held Eri's small hand in his. He slipped the ring on her ring finger. All the while, Eri had her other hand on her cheeks. She sighed in contentment.

Next to them, Arou quietly bought a necklace for Kanade. Kanade beamed and turned around, lifting her hair so that Arou could help her put the necklace on.

Masahiro bent down to examine the handmade jewelry that had captivated Eri and Kanade so much. He fingered a dainty flower pendant necklace, marveling at the detail in the petals. The necklace reminded him of the time they had all gone to see the sakura together. The falling petals had caught in Kaichou's hair so many times. He turned to look up at her.

Against the soft lights that decorated the festival, Kaichou's glowing silhouette made his heart thump. He dangled the necklace in front of him, the metal cool against his skin.

"Take this."

"What?" she asked, looking at him in surprise at his sudden words.

"A...gift for you," he finished lamely.

She stared at the necklace confusedly before glancing towards Eri and Kanade. "Don't worry, I won't feel left out," said Kaichou without taking the necklace.

Masahiro blinked before his mind supplied the answer. "Wait, it's not like I'm pitying you or doing this out of obligation or anything!" he sputtered. He certainly hadn't thought he needed to give Kaichou a gift just because Eri and Kanade had both received gifts! "Just think of this as...thanks for taking care of Marota throughout the day."

Kaichou smiled. "All right. But only if you let me buy you something in return too."

"Okay...wait, what?"

His protests fell on deaf ears. Kaichou was already bending over the selection, humming as she took her pick. "What do you think of this one, Marota? I think it suits your owner's eyes perfectly. It'll really bring out his azure eyes."

She turned around, holding a pair of earrings with small, sapphire stones.

Masahiro laughed out loud, Marota barking along with him. "Thanks, but I think I'll pass."

"Come on, try them on! I want to see," said Kaichou mischievously. "Before you protest that you don't have your ears pierced, let me tell you these are magnetic."

At Kaichou's earnest look, Masahiro gave in easily. "Oh fine, just for the duration of the festival."

He held his hand out for the earrings, Kaichou's light touch brushing against his hand. He separated the earring from the magnetic backing, trying his best to fasten it on his ear.

"There, how does it look?" he asked, tilting his head. The earrings felt odd, an extra weight on his ears.

Kaichou grinned. "I was entirely right. It brings out your eyes."

"Whatever you say. Okay, now it's your turn. Turn around," said Masahiro.

"What?"

"You know, the necklace? You have your hands full with Marota. Let me help you put it on."

"Oh, all right," she said as she turned around. Masahiro stepped close to her, close enough to breathe in her rose scented shampoo. He fastened the necklace around her neck, the flower pendant falling against her chest.

He took a step back, watching Kaichou touch the pendant, her mouth lifting in a smile. The simple necklace was just right.

When the others finally noticed their selections, Eri and Kanade squealed at his sapphire earrings. Eri turned around to force the same on her boyfriend while Kanade looked at Arou curiously, no doubt wondering how the dark haired boy would look with earrings.

Masahiro snickered at Arou's discomfort.

* * *

The festival gradually became busier as more people wandered in. As the six friends walked from stand to stand, they had to navigate through crowds of people, their shoulders often bumping into those of strangers. Arou stumbled after one such incident. Kaichou moved to help him, forgetting she had Marota in her arms. The little puppy slipped out of her arms and landed sloppily on the floor.

Masahiro hastily grabbed him before he could bounce off. He really should have left Marota at home. When Masahiro stood back up, he caught Kaichou's worried look at Arou's pale complexion.

He began to notice how Kaichou's gaze followed Arou as they passed the dango stand. Her gaze continued to follow Arou even when it was her turn at the throwing game. When they went searching for a spot to see the fireworks, her eyes still trailed towards the dark haired boy. Masahiro wondered at Kaichou's sudden interest in Arou. Had he missed it before now, or had she always looked at Arou so intently?

He tried to put the thought out of his mind as he waved them over towards the spot he had found with a perfect view of the open sky.

They settled down to wait for the beginning of the fireworks. Kanade offered to grab something for everyone to munch on. Arou stood up to accompany her. She tried to persuade him to take a rest, but Arou insisted he was fine.

"His color didn't look very good," murmured Kaichou after they left, her voice quiet in case Ezawa or Eri overheard. "I have the feeling that being in crowds taxes him a lot. Is it the contact?"

Masahiro leaned back on his arms. "Have Kanade or Arou said anything to you?"

"Kanade did," replied Kaichou. "I've wondered about her weird behaviors. Now that I think about it, it makes so much sense..."

"Oh, so you believe her straight away?" said Masahiro with mock hurt.

Kaichou snorted. "I've already suspended my disbelief for you. What's one more?"

She looked up at the sky, her legs tucked close to her chest. "I've wondered what your connection is with Kanade and Arou," she said. "I've never even considered that you shared something like this."

"Sometimes, I feel," she continued, "that it's so hard for me to…"

At that moment, the first batch of fireworks shot up into the sky, the red sparks lighting up the dark sky, illuminating Kaichou's face. The loud boom drowned out the rest of her sentence.

"What did you say?" asked Masahiro loudly over the booming fireworks.

Kaichou shrugged with a tiny smile and extended her legs out in front of her, settling back to watch the fireworks.


	18. Excessive Chain

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> a glimpse of Namiki's school life

The summer heat soon bled into the crispness of autumn. Everywhere Masahiro looked, piles and piles of fallen leaves and barren trees greeted his sight. The colorful piles of leaves excited Marota greatly during their walks. Masahiro always had a hard time stopping the puppy from jumping into the piles and sending the leaves flying everywhere.

Getting back to classes after summer was difficult too. The low hum of the AC did nothing to help focus Masahiro's attention. As his professor lectured about identifying the bottleneck in yet another process, Masahiro rested his chin on his hand and gazed out the window. He missed his summer outings with Kaichou and the others when he had been able to spend entire days in their presence. He had thought that going to the closest college would be close enough, but it wasn't the same as being in the same school. He even organized his schedule so that he would have a gap between his second and third courses that would let him walk back to his old high school to have lunch with the others. He would never admit it to the other boy, but no one cooked like Arou. Masahiro never prepared his own lunch. He almost never frequented the university dining halls either. The atmosphere just wasn't right.

The professor went on to describe their upcoming group project, leaving them time before the end of the class to find a group and hack out the details. Instead of sticking around like most were doing, Masahiro straightened his papers and tucked them away in his bag, getting ready to leave as quickly as possible.

"Namiki-kun, do you have a group yet?" asked one of his classmates before Masahiro could make his escape.

"No," replied Masahiro as he got up. He hadn't even thought to look for a group. All he had been thinking about was joining his friends for lunch. If he didn't hurry, he would miss their lunchtime.

"Would you like to join our group?" his classmate asked helpfully.

"Sounds great," he said right away. "Here's my phone number. Call me when you've decided on something. Bye."

"Namiki-kun, you can't just leave like that!" exclaimed his offended classmate at Masahiro's abrupt departure.

* * *

As Masahiro neared his old high school, he felt as if he had stepped into a different world. The students here were no different from his current classmates--they were all getting back to the school routine--but whereas his university felt confining and pale, his old school was vibrant and lively. He walked towards their usual spot, expecting to see Kanade and Arou with their extravagant lunch, without a care about how out of synch they were with the rest of the school. He imagined Kaichou there too, nibbling on her food absentmindedly as she worked through her paperwork. He hadn't been able to completely stop her from worrying about her duties even during lunch time, but at least he had gotten her to come outdoors once in a while to enjoy the autumn breeze. Doing paperwork on the grass was much healthier than staying indoors the entire time.

Instead of the scene he was expecting, only Kanade was present. The tablecloth and food were already set. Arou had outdone himself once again with his ten course meal. Masahiro supposed he was later than usual despite his hurry to get here. He had tried to coax a stray, black kitten out from underneath a car on his way here, but that hadn't worked out. All he had gotten were scratches on his forearm and a hissing kitten that continued to lash out whenever Masahiro dared to take a step closer to it. Masahiro blamed Marota. Marota's threatening scent must still be lingering on him.

"Where's our famous cook?" Masahiro asked jokingly as he plopped down next to Kanade and swiped a piece of bread. As he chewed, he glanced around. "I hope the class president has stopped by. She's not starving herself again, is she?" he asked.

Kanade smiled. "Don't worry! I've been keeping an eye on her."

Masahiro had no doubt that Kanade was doing her best to bring Kaichou into their little circle. The friendship between the two wasn't as strong as the one between Kanade and Eri, but ever since their summer outing, he'd seen the two girls share wide grins and open laughter, their interaction with each other much more casual than before.

"So where is Arou anyway?" asked Masahiro again, remembering that he had been curious about the dark-haired boy before his mind had wandered off.

Kanade quickly took a bite of her food and chewed for a good minute before swallowing.

"Oh, ah, he's busy today!" she said finally, her eyes peering up at him and darting away quickly.

Kanade was the worst liar ever. Her expressive eyes and her hesitant voice immediately gave her away. Something was up, but it couldn't be anything too serious or else Kanade would not have been able to smile so freely at him when she had greeted him. If Kanade and Arou were having a fight, Kanade wouldn't be sitting here calmly with food that Arou had prepared. Of course, with those two, even if they were having a fight, Arou would probably still be trying to feed Kanade. Normal reasoning with them didn't work.

"Okay, what's going on?" asked Masahiro. If Arou had done anything to hurt Kanade, even it if were just negligence, Masahiro was in his right to be pissed.

"What?" squeaked Kanade. "What makes you think that? Nothing's going on!"

Masahiro reached out, his hand almost caressing Kanade's face. He wanted to find out.

Kanade's eyes widened as she ducked away. "I-it's a secret!"

He paused and let his hand drop. "A secret?"

Kanade smiled shyly, "You'll find out."

He sighed in relief and leaned backwards, relieved at Kanade's shy smile. He could handle secrets. He was used to secrets. He had immediately thought the worst. "A secret, huh? Is it something I should look forward to?"

Kanade nodded excitedly before her eyes landed on the scratches on his arm.

"Namiki-san! What happened to your arm?" she exclaimed, immediately digging through her pockets for a band-aid. "You should clean it so it doesn't get infected."

He let her fuss over him, taking her change of subject in stride. It was strange being here with only Kanade. He felt relaxed and peaceful, as if there were nothing urgent he had to do. She was leaning very closely to him as she gently turned his arm over, close enough that he could smell the scent of her apple shampoo. He murmured his thanks, snorting at the cute little band-aid decorated with the drawing of a triumphant firefighter under a rainbow that she applied to his arm.

He didn't tease Kanade about kissing his wound better--it was no fun to tease her like that when Arou wasn't around. Instead, he filled his plate and took a bite of the savory Italian dish that Arou had prepared for today.

"This is delicious," he marveled in awe. The sauce was to die for. No matter how many times he tried Arou's cooking, he still found it hard to believe just how tasty his cooking was. Kanade had found quite a guy. She certainly would never go hungry, unlike whoever ended up with him. Masahiro only had dog food in his refrigerator after all.

He was content eating lunch with just Kanade, but his eyes still wandered. He supposed he wasn't used to Arou's absence. Those two were never far apart whenever Masahiro was present.

"Um, Namiki-san,' ventured Kanade, pulling Masahiro back from his thoughts.

"Yeah?" he answered just as his cellphone vibrated. He quickly glanced at it. His hastily formed group wanted to meet tomorrow right after class during the time he usually came here. The message went on about grabbing lunch together.

"Ah, is something wrong?" asked Kanade.

Masahiro shrugged. "My group wants to meet tomorrow at this time," he said.

"Oh," replied Kanade disappointment coloring her words. "I guess it's not good to leave your group hanging."

Sighing, Masahiro quickly sent a text back to his classmate, telling him that he'd be there.

* * *

The next day, Masahiro ordered from the university dining halls for the first time. His group members had debated about going off campus to a nearby restaurant, but in the end, they all agreed that a quick meal would be best. Masahiro crossed his arms as he waited, the loud and crowded dining halls a sharp contrast with the peaceful atmosphere of the lunch he had the day before.

When his order came, Masahiro carried his plastic tray over to the table his group members were waiting at. They talked about the project as they ate. Masahiro's oyakodon didn't taste too bad for mere dining hall fare. Still, this was one of the most boring lunches Masahiro had ever had. He used to think lunches with Ootake were boring--meeting with older men wasn't his idea of fun--but at least those lunches held the thrill of stocks and reading the future.

There was a disconnect between Masahiro and his classmates, one that Masahiro didn't quite know how or want to bridge.

"I wonder who she's looking for?" asked one of his group members, his head nodding towards the entrance.

Out of the corner of his eye, Masahiro saw a vibrant splash of color against the dull, gray walls. He hastily sat up straighter, his head turning to capture that vibrancy.

His eyes trailed over to the tall girl who bowed politely to someone who was pointing his way. She turned towards him, a large smile gracing her face when she spotted him.

There at the door was none other than Kaichou.

Masahiro blinked, wondering if his eyes were playing tricks on him, but she didn't disappear or start blending in with everyone else. She only become clearer and stood out even more.

He got up and met her halfway, ignoring the excited chatter of his group members. Kaichou extended a small box out to him. He was immediately reminded of the time she had shown up at Kanade's door with a similar box.

"What's this?" he asked, too surprised to even question her sudden appearance at his university.

"Dessert," she replied. "I brought it here since you just had to be absent today of all days."

He took the box slowly, his heart beating in anticipation. Had she really...? He thought that no one had remembered. It wouldn't have been a big deal.

Lifting the flaps of the box revealed a small, lopsided white cake with the words, "HAPPY BIRTHDAY!" scrawled over the top.

Kaichou blushed as he laid eyes on the small cake. "I spent all day learning from Arou. I'm afraid it still doesn't look all that great, but I can guarantee the taste," she said earnestly.

Masahiro covered his eyes as he laughed, his shoulders shaking with the laughter that coursed through his body.

She flushed at his laughter, her indignant look only making him laugh harder.

"I'm sorry," he said, trying to suppress the giddiness he felt. "Well, I'm not really. I'm happy. Elated actually. Thank you. Thank you so much."

He beamed even has she crossed her arms.

He grabbed a fork. His first taste of Kaichou's handmade cake melted in his mouth. He licked the cream from his lips.

"It's delicious," he murmured, the silly grin never once leaving his face.

Kaichou ducked her head. "I'm glad you think so," she replied.

"Wait," said Masahiro as a thought came over him. "Are you skipping school?" he asked incredulously. The thought was absurd, this was Kaichou after all, but here she was at his university when his old school had a strict policy that restricted students from leaving school grounds even during lunch.

Kaichou laughed at his comical expression. "No, I got permission. Who do you think I am? I'm the student council president!" When his expression only grew more incredulous at the thought that she'd misuse her authority like that, she only grinned in response. "Oh silly you. I do have official business here other than giving you your cake. Granted, I wouldn't have chosen to come in the middle of the day if it weren't because of you."

"It's nice seeing you mingle with your classmates," she continued. "You don't do that often enough. You shouldn't always be coming over..."

Before he could protest, she continued. "Sometimes you need to let us come to you too."

"Oh," he replied, his protest dying before he even voiced it.

Kaichou left soon after, she had to get back to school after all, but she made sure to ask him what his schedule was like later in the day. Arou and Kanade had something planned, she said, but that was all she could reveal. Masahiro's dreary and boring day and just changed completely.

When he made his way back to his group members, he surrendered himself to his classmates' curiosity (which came in the form of an onslaught of questions) and their protests (which mainly consisted of "Why didn't you tell us it was your birthday?").

All in all, his birthday was turning out to be a blast.


	19. Invincible, Unrivaled

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> gloves and roasted yam

Masahiro glanced forlornly at his watch as he settled down in the library with his group members. He was going to miss another lunchtime with Arou and Kanade. There went his chance of running into Kaichou too. He rarely saw her outside of those lunches. Lately, whenever he was at the school, Kaichou would always be busy with the student council. He already saw Christmas decorations up about the school most likely thanks to her. The time right after classes resumed and the time right before classes stopped for the holidays seemed to be her busiest times.

Maybe it was time to bring Marota on another walk around the area before the weather got too cold. Who knew who he would run into?

His classes were piling him with more and more projects that even someone like he who understood things the first time around had a difficult time dealing with them. After his first venture into his college dining halls, Masahiro found himself frequenting them a lot more often given how much time he had to spend on campus, but the food always paled in comparison with Arou's cooking.

When his classmate's book fell, Masahiro bent to grab the book, his hand brushing against the other boy's. Instantly, Masahiro saw that this meeting of theirs was going to take them well into the afternoon. He sighed inwardly and prepared himself for a long day.

On his way home, Masahiro rubbed his hands together, blowing on them to warm them up. The weather had changed drastically in the past week. He considered buying a pair of gloves, but wearing them would make him too conspicuous when he wanted to see the future. Taking his gloves off would alert people that he was doing something, even if they didn't know anything about his power. Gloves didn't completely block his power, as he'd discovered that one time his mother had clothed him from head to toe, hoping to put a stop to his freakish power. She had held his gloved hand without trembling as much as usual. He accepted her lead, naively thinking that perhaps things would work out.

He was immediately sorry that he could still see the future. It just took more concentration than usual.

He wished he hadn't seen her reaction.

Going without gloves was simply easier despite the cold. He stuck his hands in the pockets of his jeans, doing his best to keep them from becoming frozen. He wasn't dressed for the weather at all. He wondered if gloves would make a good present for Arou. The other boy's birthday was coming up soon. Gloves would do nothing to stop Arou's power--his was way stronger than Masahiro's--so Arou could still wear them even when he wanted to see. Arou wouldn't have much use for normal gloves. He tended to his fields even during winter, but some new work gloves might come in handy.

With that in mind, Masahiro went to search for a gift for Arou, a simple thanks for the unassuming friendship they shared. Masahiro couldn't have asked for better friends. He had stopped giving gifts altogether ever since he had failed to bring a smile to his mother's face with that damn brooch, but his friends abolished his inhibitions altogether. What was there to be wary of when your friends smiled so brightly at you and laughed with you when you presented them silly little things? Kaichou's small smile when he had given her that dainty little necklace, cheap thing that it was, had been worth it all.

* * *

They celebrated Arou's birthday on the rooftop of the school. Like the previous year, students from all over the school drifted over, intrigued by the laughter the group on the rooftop shared. The smell of roasted yam played no small part in attracting hungry students to the festive birthday celebration. The rooftop was much too small for the crowd they had gathered. Soon, students were huddled in the stairways, some eating their already roasted yams, some still waiting their turn. Arou was in the middle of it all, basking in the warmth of everyone's laughter. Arou and a whole bunch of other people that Masahiro couldn't name surrounded the metal can where they kept a fire going to roast the yams. The dark haired boy was responsible for handing out the yams wrapped in yellow aluminum foil. If Masahiro hadn't been tied down by his projects, he would have lent a hand in wrapping the yams.

Masahiro leaned against the wall of the school building, blowing on his own roasted yam as he watched Arou mingle with his fellow classmates. He bit into the steaming yam and chewed quickly, his tongue almost burnt. He ran his tongue against the roof of his mouth, hoping to get rid of the stinging sensation.

As he continued his attempt to cool his yam by blowing on it, Kanade squeezed out from the crowd, her own yam held in her gloved hands. She breathed a sigh of relief, most likely because her blindfold was still safely in place. She righted herself and came his way, taking a spot next to him where she was safe from the jostling shoulders of the other students.

They ate in companionable silence with the noisy murmuring on the rooftop as their background music. The crowd didn't look like it was dying any time soon. Once one student left with his or her yam, another student took the recently vacated spot. Arou was going to be stuck there for a long time. He didn't look like he was going to run out of yams either. Just how many had Arou grown this year?

"Why don't you join him?" asked Masahiro. He nodded towards Arou.

Kanade tore her eyes away from her boyfriend.

"Eh, but I don't want to leave you here alone!" exclaimed Kanade. "Besides, you haven't been around lately, so..."

It was touching that Kanade wanted to spend more time with him, but it was the other boy's birthday. Masahiro took another glance at Arou, meeting the dark-haired boy's gaze. Smirking, Masahiro put his arms around Kanade, his smirk growing when he saw Arou bristle. Kanade only looked at him questioningly, her cheeks rosy.

"Come on, don't make me feel so pitiful that I need to steal you away from Arou on his birthday! Let's see you brighten up his day," said Masahiro. He gave Kanade a small push towards Arou.

Kanade laughed. He watched her squeeze back into the crowd, apologizing whenever she bumped into someone.

With all his big talk, he felt silly for immediately feeling lonely with Kanade gone from his side. He had seen how they'd walk hand-in-hand to Kanade's house, stopping outside her door. There, Kanade would give her present to Arou, a rare, mischievous glint coming over her eyes before she pulled her boyfriend down for a kiss. It was an expression he had never seen on Kanade.

Kanade surprised him when she stumbled out of the group once again to head his way. She quickly held her hand out.

"Another yam for you, Namiki-san!" she said brightly.

He chuckled and leaned over, whispering his next words.

"Arou is going to be such a lucky guy tonight."

Kanade blushed all the way to her ears.

* * *

After giving the other boy his gift, Masahiro said his farewells to both Arou and Kanade before he left the loving couple. He had yet to see the class president among all the festivity and was wondering if he was going to miss her once again when he saw her stumble and drop an entire box of poinsettias. The red flowers splayed across the floor.

"Hey, careful there!" he exclaimed as he rushed over to help her, his voice jarring in the otherwise quiet corridor, the only sound having been the thud from Kaichou's fallen box.

She looked up gratefully, taking his hand to right herself.

"What's wrong, did you trip?" asked Masahiro, too worried to even stop to marvel that she still took his hand without any hesitation. A small part of him thought to himself that this was another reason why he would rather go without gloves.

Kaichou shook her head and brought her hand to her forehead. "I'm just feeling a little dizzy. I must have stood up too fast after putting the flowers in the box."

"You must have been doing too much lately," said Masahiro instead. "Practically the whole school was celebrating Arou's birthday, yet you're still running about the place doing this and that."

He took Kaichou's arms and placed them around his shoulder. "Come on, let's go to the infirmary. You need a rest."

"What?" exclaimed Kaichou. "It's just a small bit of dizziness! What about the flowers? I'll be fine-"

She swooned again, clearly contradicting her own words.

"See what I'm saying? Just leave the flowers. I'll pick them up later," said Masahiro. If he had been dealing with Kanade, he would have ruffled her hair at her bold but untrue claim. With Kaichou, however, Masahiro merely hastened his steps. He didn't like how pale she looked.

She sighed.

"You know, you don't have to do everything by yourself. You're not invincible, no matter how much you'd like to think that way," he said quietly.

"I know," came her equally quiet reply.

"Are the rest of the student council idiots or what? You should make them work harder!"

She laughed. "They tell me I should give them more work too."

Masahiro rolled his eyes. "Well, you should listen to them then!"

He wasn't part of their school anymore, yet he knew even more than before how serious she was about her duties.

If it hadn't been for Kaichou, the thought about supporting so many people behind the scenes would be a foreign thought to him. Hers was a different kind of diligence than Kanade's, who did everything she could to bring forth a kind future. Kaichou worked to hold everything together. Masahiro saw no point in helping other people make copies or borrow equipment when they should have been able to do such simple tasks themselves, but she never complained. Instead, she took it in stride because it was her job, her duty, and she was efficient at it. She presented an invincible front, and if it weren't because he knew the person behind the front--the girl who had thought the role of princess didn't suit her, the girl who always forgot to eat because of how much she worked--he would have never guessed that she was tired. He knew her though. He had come to know her intimately, ironically after he stopped going to the same school.

All those thoughts came to a halt when he read her future and saw what she was going to say to him. He dropped her arm. They were at the infirmary anyway.

He wished he hadn't read the future just like that. He had been unconsciously doing it just like breathing.

Once inside the infirmary, Masahiro dumbly handed over the other yam Kanade had given to him. At Kaichou's questioning look, Masahiro just commented that her hands were cold. She better warm them up with the yam.


	20. Our Own World

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> What was Kaichou going to say in the future?

Just a few months ago, Masahiro would have blurted out what Kaichou was going to say to him because her words were worth preening over. She would have just passed it off as intuition on his part. Now however, he reigned himself in because he knew it would be completely tactless of him, and he found he didn't want to do anything that could possibly change the future. He and Kanade both saw unpleasant futures more often than not and sought to prevent them as best as they could, but this time was completely different. He was afraid he'd do something to jeopardize the future he had seen, but why should he be afraid? It made no sense.

Kaichou peered at him curiously over the yam he had handed her. Her eyes darted between the yam and his face. What kind of expression did he have to warrant such scrutiny from her? Or perhaps his actions had been that baffling.

"Are you all right? Your face is very red. If you're cold, you should get a scarf."

Masahiro covered his face with his cold hand. He could feel himself blushing to the tips of his ears, and his mind wouldn't work fast enough to come up with an appropriate response.

"Mm, yeah, a scarf might help. I'll see you at the Christmas party," he said hastily. A scarf would help him hide his face, something that he really wanted to do at the moment. He made sure Kaichou was resting before he closed the infirmary door behind him, all the while entirely conscious of Kaichou's inquiring gaze.

He covered his face again. His hands weren't even that cold anymore, but against his burning face, they were freezing.

Kaichou was going to confess to him.

_Kaichou was going to confess to him._

He couldn't quite wrap his mind around that thought even as he meandered down the corridor to make his way out. Once, Kanade had seen that Kaichou was going to confess to Arou. That had thrown her in a bind and confused her greatly. Masahiro merely thought it was amusing then, but now he entirely empathized with Kanade and admired her for her ability to meet the future head on.

Some things weren't meant to be seen. Seeing Kaichou's confession had completely thrown him off balance. The worst part was, he was being all confused over an event that hadn't even happened yet. He didn't even know if it was going to happen or if he had interpreted things right. Who knew? He might have seen things out of context.

A flash of red caught his eye. The fallen poinsettias were still all over the floor, right where he had made Kaichou leave them. Masahiro grabbed the box she had left behind, his hand reaching for the nearest flower. When he brushed a velvety petal, he took a deep breath before the corridors around him vanished.

_Twinkling Christmas lights and red poinsettias decorated the walls of the crowded gym, a sharp contrast from the bare corridor he had been in. But even with dancing and food and enough holiday cheer to last for weeks, his vision was painted in muted colors no matter where he looked. It felt like the entire school was at the Christmas party, dancing and laughing and having a good time, but here he was, merely an onlooker._

_He took a tentative step forward and immediately stopped in his tracks._

_Amidst all the festivity, she was fixing the flowers. She stood on a small stool to reach the flowers on top. The hem of her blouse crept up with her reach. A couple passed by her, offering to lend a hand, but she waved them on and told them to go back to the party. When she finished, she tried to lean back to admire her handiwork, but she wobbled dangerously on the stool._

_He leaped forward to catch her, but his hands passed right through her. Before panic could even settle in, another pair of arms caught her. Before he was even able to breath a sigh of relief, Kaichou looked up gratefully, her smile wide and brilliant._

He loved her smile.

He dropped the box on the floor, the leftover poinsettias tumbling out of the box.

* * *

"Kanade, let me hug you."

Masahiro didn't wait for her response before he sneaked an arm around his petite friend from the back.

"Namiki-san!" squeaked Kanade. Even her ears had turned bright red.

When he continued to hang onto her, she rested one of her hands on his arm in reassurance, sensing that he needed the comfort. She breathed in, as if she wanted to ask him something but didn't know how to start. He was thankful for that. He took comfort in her calming presence, in her unwavering kindness that had completely changed his life. He threaded one hand through her hair and pulled her close with his other hand. He was close enough to feel her heartbeat and the warmth of her body.

In the silence that followed, he tried to sort his jumbled thoughts out. He had an epiphany of sorts, but there was so much to think about. When Kanade thought she had given him enough time, she shifted so that she could face him. She looked up at him, concern all over her face. Masahiro wanted to pull her closer and never let go. She was like an anchor for him, a safe haven, but...

"Namiki-san?" inquired Kanade softly. "I thought you already went home?"

He looked at her fondly and pressed a soft kiss to her forehead, his smile at her blush equally soft. She raised a hand to her forehead and looked at him with warm eyes, eyes that promised him that everything was going to be all right.

He then let her go.

* * *

During the following days, Masahiro felt like he was constantly on the look out. Whenever he took Marota out for a walk, he wondered if he'd run into Kaichou somewhere along the way. When he tutored Kanade, he wondered if Kanade had invited Kaichou along again. He kept glancing around, as if she'd suddenly appear. He didn't know when or where the confession was going happen. All he could remember were her echoing words.

_I like you._

Her quiet but strong voice remained imprinted in his memory. Those three innocent words stopped his time. He couldn't go forward if those words didn't make it out into the open. Every little action left him wondering if he had changed the future in some way, if he would be left waiting and waiting.

He was pretty sure Arou had noticed that something was off about him, but he had waved his concern off. The least Masahiro could do was keep Kaichou's confession to himself until after it happened...if it ever happened. Arou had thought it necessary to remind him that he didn't need to take everything on by himself. He wasn't alone anymore. The dark-haired boy had patted his hand reassuringly, and it was to Arou's credit that Masahiro trusted that Arou was only trying to be supportive even though that one small pat came packaged with a heap of visions of the past. Masahiro still wished he hadn't seen the future-it wasn't something meant to be seen beforehand, and knowing only put him in turmoil while playing this waiting game-but there was one good thing that had come about.

He had been given the time to come to term with his own feelings.

Now, it was just a matter of when and where...and whether he had things all wrong. Despite Kanade and Arou's good intentions, this was a private matter. He wanted Kaichou to be the first one privy to his thoughts. He suspected Kanade might have seen something, but she was keeping quiet. That he was thankful for too. He resolved to himself that if nothing happened by New Years, he would take action.

The week of Christmas finally rolled around after what felt like an eternity. The confession still hadn't happened, but at least Masahiro knew to expect Kaichou at the Christmas party. He had seen that much at least and was reassured that even though she had fallen off her stool in his vision of the future, someone had been there to catch her. Still, that didn't stop him from worrying.

At the party, Masahiro immediately found his way over to Kaichou. She was wearing a simple, one piece dress that came to her knees. He paused in his steps. This was already different from what he had seen in his vision of the Christmas party. There, she had been wearing the blouse from her normal school uniform. Masahiro knew that what he had seen of the future had been far away and that it was highly possible that the future wouldn't unfold like what he had seen. Only the immediate future was ever accurate. He wondered what that meant for his other vision, since it still hadn't happened.

He gulped but nevertheless took to following Kaichou around.

At the refreshments table, she handed him a red velvet cupcake. They were a beautiful red. When he peeled off the wrapper, he saw her looking at him expectantly.

"Are you so eager to see me eat this?" asked Masahiro, amused.

"Go on, take a bite!" she said in reply. She then realized how much she was leaning towards him in her eagerness. She took a step back.

He humored her and bit into the cupcake. It was moist and had an interesting texture. It was definitely different from the normal chocolate or vanilla cupcake.

"How is it?" she asked eagerly, leaning forward once again.

Masahiro took his time to appreciate the taste. Kaichou grabbed a cupcake of her own and slowly peeled the wrapper. She glanced at him, waiting for his verdict. He could pretty much guess that she had a hand with making these.

"A perfect mix of cocoa and vanilla," he declared. He took another large bite into the cupcake. Kaichou was getting better and better at baking.

He grinned when he saw Kaichou's smile blossom. She sighed in relief.

"I was afraid they'd come out weird! I don't have Arou's talent for cooking at all. It's great that you liked it."

"While I have to admit that Arou is the god of cooking," started Masahiro, "It's so much better getting something from a girl than a guy."

Kaichou laughed and nibbled on her own cupcake. The party continued on, but Masahiro didn't feel a need to go anywhere. Kaichou though, had other things in mind. She patrolled the area, checked to see that they still had enough refreshments, and did everything but participate in the party like everyone else was doing. She tried to make him join the rest of the celebration, but he resolutely continued to follow her. Even when she spotted Arou and Kanade and looked towards him to see if he was going to go off with them, Masahiro merely waved at them and told Kaichou that he'd find them later. She gave him a look that he couldn't decipher-was she finding his behavior weird?-but she continued on.

She stopped next to the wall and looked up at the drooping line of poinsettias with a frown. Kaichou quickly glanced around and pulled over a stool.

Masahiro's eyes widened. The scene was almost exactly like what he had seen, except Kaichou was wearing something different. He hastily grabbed her hand. Someone had been there to catch Kaichou in his vision of the future, but that was too risky. It was better to keep her away from that stool in the first place. He didn't see anyone around who was paying them any attention either, so where was the person who was going to be there to catch Kaichou?

His thoughts came to a halt. There was him after all.

"Is something wrong?" asked Kaichou. Masahiro was still holding her hand.

He tugged her away from the wall. "Let me fix those flowers for you. Not good to let a lady climb so high in a dress."

Her lips twitched upwards at his words. "What a gentleman you're being today, but I'll be fine even in a dress."

Masahiro shook his head. He tested the stability of the stool and heaved himself up despite Kaichou's protests. "Leave it to me. I don't want to see you fall." He reached up to fix the flowers. He tucked them back on the ledge that supported them.

"...did you see that happen?" asked Kaichou quietly. "Is that why you've been with me this entire time?"

He could tell she was trying to make light of the situation, but she sounded almost...disappointed. He twisted to look back at her, wanting to see her so he could figure out what she meant. His movement must have upset his balance, for the next thing he knew, he was toppling forward.

That dratted vision was still coming true.

Masahiro saw Kaichou rush forward, her arms wide open. He tried to warn her to get out of the way-he'd rather fall on the floor than hurt her-but there was no time for warnings. He pummeled right into her. Both of them crashed into the ground from the impact. He tried to cushion her with his arms.

"Are you all right?" he asked, alarm coloring his words. He managed to lift himself up partially so he could look at Kaichou. There was a twinge of pain in his shoulder, but he was more worried about Kaichou. She could have hit her head.

She was staring back at him with wide eyes. It was then that he noticed that their position was very suggestive.

He stared back at her. His thoughts were far, far away from the Christmas party. Kaichou had his complete attention.

His heart was still pounding a mile a minute. He suspected the same for her.

"I think I made the future worse," said Masahiro. "It'd have been better if I caught you and didn't let both of us crash."

Kaichou stared at him some more. He was growing a bit panicked at her lack of reaction. It didn't take that long to get over falling, did it? Had she actually hurt herself? Was she dwelling on his powers? Was she...

"Namiki."

"Yes?" he answered immediately.

That smile of hers that he loved so much slowly spread over her face. It was as if she had made up her mind about something and could not contain her excitement.

His heart pounded in his ears.

"I like you."

This was definitely not how either of his visions had played out, but Masahiro had been waiting for those words all the same.


	21. Fence

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> Namiki's response.

He already had all the extra time in the world to come to term with his feelings, and he'd learned from Kanade to be true to himself. It was a difficult task when matters of the heart were involved, but Masahiro tried his best. He didn't know if Kaichou would forgive him for his encroachment. There was only one way to find out, and he wasn't going to skirt around it. He wasn't in this to deceive her. He wanted to be in her presence. He wanted to get to know her better.

Masahiro stood up, his legs shaking from the effort. He extended his hand to Kaichou to help her up. She slipped her slender hand in his. When both of them were on their feet once again, Masahiro dropped her hand reluctantly and gathered his courage. He rolled his shoulders to get his senses back-his shoulders still smarted from the fall. When there was no more stalling he could do, he finally looked at her directly and almost lost his resolve.

He didn't recall from his vision that her eyes would be this clear, this focused. She was waiting for him to respond in some way, and despite her confidence, he could see her gulp. She was just as nervous.

"Kaichou," he began before he took the plunge. There was no more time to ponder where this was going to take their relationship.

"I like you too," he confessed.

She didn't respond immediately. She only blinked, as if his words hadn't made any sense. She was standing so very still. It felt like the slightest movement would shatter the moment. Even so, the party went on around them. They were the only ones teetering on the fence.

"Can I...take that in the romantic sense?" she ventured. Even though her voice was soft and the party was roaring around them, all he could hear was her.

"If that's what you meant your words to be as well," he replied almost straight away. He felt strangely calm given the situation, almost like a prisoner resigned for judgment. He was trapped by his power, trapped by his feelings, trapped by the knowledge that there was no easy future ahead of him.

"Your response was surprisingly quick," she commented.

He sucked in his breath and felt his lips quirk up on their own. He wasn't trying to smirk, but that wry tilt was out of his command. This was the part he dreaded, and he held little hope for things to turn out happily like the events in a fairytale. This was something he had to do.

"I like you," he repeated. "And I do mean in the romantic sense."

She was about to respond, but he stopped her by putting his hand up. His heart thudded dully in his chest.

"Wait, let me finish," he said. "I do like you very much, and I'm not being flippant about it. My response was this fast because...I had a vision of this happening, and I realized then that this was how I wanted to answer."

There, it was out in the open. Masahiro wanted her to know that his power was a part of him. He wouldn't be himself without his power, and he had used it on her without a second thought. Confessions were so personal, but he had gone and ruined it for her, proving that there would be no privacy in a relationship with him. He didn't believe that anyone would ever willingly enter such a relationship.

"Oh," she replied. And that was all she said. Masahiro felt like his facial muscles were going to kill him-why was his mouth quivering so much? But he didn't offer to elaborate. She was still gathering her thoughts and turning what he had said over in her mind. Masahiro loved that about her. She wasn't quick to jump to conclusions. She examined things carefully before she made her judgments.

If he hadn't already known he liked her that way, he would have staggered back from his own thoughts. These thoughts that he had always had about her suddenly took on a new meaning.

"That's..." she murmured, snapping him out of his stupor. "That's fantastic."

That's...what? His mind halted, unable to process what she had just said.

"I mean," she continued as she ran her hand through her hair. "I never thought you would like me back. I mean, I completely thought this would be like the time I confessed to...oh gosh, this isn't the time to bring that up. I kind of thought you still liked...and that's not really that great a topic either."

She covered her face with her hands. Her ears were already bright red. "I'm rambling, aren't I?"

"You kind of are," he replied. "And truth to be told, before I saw that you would confess to me, I was still under the impression that you liked Arou." She looked at him apologetically, but he couldn't figure out why she felt the need to be apologetic. He was the one throwing things in a bind, not her.

"And," he continued, "I thought I was in love with Kanade." In a way, he was still and will always be in love with Kanade, even though the affection he held for her was of a different kind. He only figured that out once he realized his feelings for Kaichou, but no matter what happened, Kanade would always hold a large part of his heart. Without Kanade, he would have continued his downward spiral. He would have been a useless guy who drowned his sorrows in drinks and frightened people off with tales of fatal injuries. He would have closed himself off and hated himself for it. He would have been a cold, heartless bastard who never forgave his family.

He would have never met Kaichou.

Kaichou's apologetic look had been replaced by one of understanding. She was too trusting. This wasn't going to work. Things couldn't possibly be this easy. If there were only one girl in the whole world who understood what Kanade meant to him and even accepted that...that person would be Kaichou.

"Namiki, look at me."

Her quiet words were more than enough to command him.

"Namiki, let me tell you now that I don't know what the heck I'm doing either, or what I'm supposed to feel about your power. All I know is that I care about you, and that you care about me. I'm glad the fall knocked enough sense in me and got me to confess, or else we wouldn't be here now, would we? And don't try to scare me off with talks about violating my privacy or liking other people. And don't tell me you weren't trying to do that."

She grabbed his hand. His eyebrows shot up.

"Are you reading my future right now?" she asked.

"No."

"Will you ever read my future without telling me?" she continued.

"Yes." His answer came immediately. He didn't even think to lie.

Instead of dropping his hand, Kaichou squeezed his hands reassuringly. A smile blossomed over her face.

"Good," she murmured, happiness tinging her voice.

"Good...?" he asked, bewildered. What was good about that?

She squeezed his hand once more, her smile bright. "That's what I like about you, Namiki. You're blunt and direct. You don't hide things or dumb down your words. I can trust you to speak the truth."

"If it's bluntness you want, that I can certainly do..." he commented wryly. She had completely knocked him off his feet with her logic. He didn't quite know what to think.

"In return," she continued softly, "I hope you'll be able to trust me to try to understand your power as best as I can. I want to know more about you, Namiki, but sometimes I do feel like an...outsider. Like that time at the fireworks, I came to realize how difficult it is for me to fathom the depths of your power. I don't share the same bond you have with Kanade and Arou. That's something special between you three that I can never come between. I can't promise you that I'll understand completely, but I can promise to try."

The question now was...was he willing to cross that fence with her?

Masahiro gulped. "If you...if you're willing to try, that's more than I could have ever asked for."

He squeezed her hand back. Things weren't perfect, but she gave him hope.

Her radiant smile was completely worth it.

* * *

They continued holding hands even when they returned to the party. Kaichou had wanted to fix the flowers, those dratted flowers that were now drooping over the side. He had tugged her back with a scowl.

"Leave those flowers be," he had said. "A little disorder doesn't hurt. I don't want anyone else falling tonight."

Kaichou had looked up at the flowers in amusement. "I guess it doesn't hurt leaving this little reminder of how we got together."

He hadn't blushed, but his face had felt warm. It still felt a little surreal to him, but here they were. A couple.

Even when midnight rolled about, their story didn't end precisely because this was no fairytale. There were no glass slippers involved, or kisses to break a spell. He hadn't merely crossed the fence. He had chosen to jump off it with her. This was his life, his reality.

For once, he was glad.


	22. The Road Home

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> New Years.

Crunch, crunch.

The snow beneath his feet was packed hard from all the visitors that had trampled over it. Masahiro's geta were not exactly the best type of shoes to wear for navigating the snowy terrain, but each of them, Kanade, Arou, Kaichou, and himself, had come dressed in their winter kimono for new years. Kaichou's kimono was a yellow one with pink flowers decorating the entire left side. She wore a small, golden hairpin he had never seen her wear before, but he loved the way it held her hair back, letting only small tendrils escape. The chain of the little flower necklace he had given her that night during the summer festival lay against the nape of her neck. His eyes followed the curve of her neck up to the vibrant smile on her face. She had noticed that he had been staring at her. Masahiro couldn't help but smile in return.

Click clack.

Kanade's geta clicked against the cement steps as she came down from the temple with Arou. Masahiro looked up and raised one hand to catch her attention. He had been waiting at the bottom of the stairs with Kaichou for Kanade and Arou to finish making their new years wishes. While he waited, he tried to plan their return route, but Kaichou's presence had greatly distracted him from his task. Instead of studying the map, he had spent the time studying Kaichou instead.

Nevertheless, when both Kanade and Arou reached the bottom of the steps, Masahiro gestured at the large map that stood behind him. Although he hadn't exactly looked at the map all that carefully, he still knew it better than Kanade and Arou who hadn't even had a glance at it yet. He pointed at their current location.

"We're here right now," he said. He moved his finger along the map. "We can either retrace our steps and walk this way towards the station," he paused and traced out another possible route, "or we can take the long, scenic route."

Kanade exchanged hopeful looks with Arou. Arou squeezed their connected hands. The way they understood each other without words was something to be admired. Masahiro looked down at his own hand before sneaking a glance at Kaichou. He unfurled his fingers and then curled them up again. When Kaichou glanced his way curiously, Masahiro quickly dropped his hand and directed his attention back to the map.

Meanwhile, Arou and Kanade had moved closer to the map to study it. After a moment, Arou spoke up. "We prefer the long way," he said, speaking for both himself and Kanade. "What about you two?"

Kaichou hummed, one hand held to her chin thoughtfully. "Either is fine with me. The scenic route doesn't sound bad."

"The long, torturous path it is," said Masahiro with a sigh, making their final decision for them. Kaichou and Kanade laughed at his exaggeration. Arou shook his head and gave Masahiro a light push to get him moving. Masahiro almost stumbled, but he merely made a face at Arou as he caught his balance. Masahiro was actually pleased they had chosen the long way. This meant he didn't have to part with any of them just yet. He rubbed his shoulder and began walking.

The girls had taken the lead and were chattering away, making exclamations over the scenery they passed by. The path they had chosen as a group took them along the outer perimeter of a small lake. The lake was normally full of glistening water, but winter had transformed the top of the lake into a thin layer of ice. Even the sparse plants that grew along the banks were coated with white.

Behind them, Masahiro wasn't admiring the scenery; instead, he was watching the interaction between Kaichou and Kanade fondly. When he looked towards Arou, he found that the other boy was doing the same thing with a soft smile on his face.

"Not going to catch up with Kanade?" asked Masahiro with one eyebrow raised.

"Not going to catch up with Kaichou?" Arou asked in reply with a sideways glance.

The way Arou had spoken made Masahiro pause in his steps. Arou slowed down next to him until he came to a stop. Masahiro rarely forgot but the reach of Arou's power was unbelievable. Arou always made Masahiro feel like he knew everything there was to know.

"You're no fun," said Masahiro as he touched his shoulder once more, wondering if it had been that casual shove from Arou that had enlightened him to the relationship. He hadn't been keeping their new relationship a secret or anything. He was elated after all, and was still floating in so much bliss that he would have told Arou and Kanade sooner than later. There was no doubt that they'd be happy for him.

"I've always been rooting for you to get together, you know. That could have just been another remark towards this goal." As he spoke, Arou looked forward towards where Kanade and Kaichou stood waiting for them. Kanade had turned around inquiringly since the boys had stopped walking. Arou nodded at her to let her know that they were still following them. Kanade smiled and latched onto Kaichou as they started walking once again along the winding path.

Arou continued talking. "But you know me too well. I saw what happened at the Christmas party just now." He paused before adding quietly, "I'm glad for you."

Masahiro didn't think he'd get flustered over such simple words, but he felt his cheeks heating up. Even his ears felt warm. He was just that happy. He ducked his head and turned away to face the lake, but his red ears were probably telling Arou all he needed to know.

"I wanted to tell you guys myself," said Masahiro stubbornly. "But...thanks," he uttered softly while rubbing his nose. He wasn't just thanking Arou for his support of the relationship but also for all those times Arou had given him not-so-subtle nudges to approach Kaichou. Arou was a true friend, loathe as Masahiro was to admit that in front of the guy himself.

But, two guys baring their hearts out like this was a little embarrassing. After a brief but awkward moment of silence, Masahiro cleared his throat.

"You know what, I think I'll take your advice." With that said, Masahiro hastened his steps to catch up with Kaichou. The two girls had gotten a good lead on them, which put Kaichou much farther than Masahiro would have liked.

"Hey there," said Masahiro once he reached Kaichou's side. Kanade immediately scooted to the left to make room for him. He flashed her a grateful smile that Kanade returned with a cheerful grin.

"Hey there to you too," said Kaichou next to him. She glanced back at Arou who was walking towards them at a leisurely pace. "What were you two talking so intently about?" she asked curiously as she brushed her hair back.

The movement attracted Masahiro's attention to her hand. Before he knew it, his own hand had darted out to capture hers in his.

Kaichou blinked at him, and for a horrid second, Masahiro thought it better to let go, until he felt a gentle squeeze.

Relief only made him even bolder. Masahiro leaned closely to her and whispered, "I was talking about us." He felt his heart hammering in his chest, but he also saw her shivering from his words. He rubbed her hand gently in case she was cold, but when he peered at her, he saw that Kaichou had flushed red, much like what he must have looked like a mere moment ago.

Next to him, Kanade squealed. Apparently, his whisper hadn't been quiet enough, though perhaps it was his actions that had clued Kanade in.

Masahiro slowly turned to look at her, only to be greeted with sparkling eyes and clasped hands. He almost took a step back because of Kanade's enthusiasm, but doing so would have forced Kaichou too near the banks, and that was dangerous.

"Does this mean you're together now?" asked Kanade hopefully.

Masahiro nodded.

Kanade squealed again. "Congratulations!"

"Thanks," he said from the bottom of his heart. Beside him, Kaichou answered with a nod and a smile. Kanade squealed some more. The smile on her face was uncontainable.

"I'm so happy for the two of you!" she exclaimed. "Does Arou-kun know yet? Have you told him? Can I tell him?" she asked all in one breath.

Kaichou chuckled at Kanade's enthusiasm.

"Arou already knows," replied Masahiro. "That's what we were talking about just now. You can squeal all you want with him."

Kanade beamed happily and went off to do just that. Once she left their side, Masahiro glanced sideways at Kaichou, wondering what she thought of all this.

"She seems more excited than we are," she commented in amusement. She tugged on his hand slightly so that they could walk side-by-side along the edge of the frozen lake.

"Yeah," said Masahiro, agreeing with Kaichou's assessment. Since when had Kanade become their number one fan? "Arou gave his congratulations too."

Walking next to Kaichou with their hands entwined was not something Masahiro had ever imagined for himself. Why would anyone want to hold hands with him? For him, such an act was even more intimate than kissing, this casual and gentle touch. He could read her future at any moment with their connected hands, but he didn't want to, not when he could spend the present with her.

"I wonder what Marota is up to at the moment?" asked Kaichou.

"He's probably waiting in front of the door," he replied, imagining Marota looking up at the high doorknob, tail thumping behind him. At least the turtle was there to keep the dog company. Masahiro just hoped the stupid dog wasn't chewing on the absentminded turtle again. He really needed to buy Marota a new chewing toy instead.

"You should have brought him with you then!" exclaimed Kaichou. "I'm surprised you didn't."

Masahiro had considered bringing Marota. He knew Kaichou adored Marota greatly, and she had a knack with dogs. Marota never calmed down around him, but he was practically an angel when Kaichou was around. But with such deep snow, Masahiro would have had to carry him in his arms.

"I wanted to be able to hold your hand like this," Masahiro said. He raised their connected hands up in the air to demonstrate what he meant.

Kaichou laughed, her laughter ringing out clearly on this cold, winter day. He watched her, entranced. "You're so silly," she said as she squeezed his hand. "Don't be jealous of Marota."

Masahiro was probably pouting, but he wasn't going to admit it. Kaichou merely laughed some more at his expression.

They continued bantering, their exchange more full of witty remarks than anything else. He had never imagined that he'd feel so comfortable in someone's presence. He had thought it impossible, but here he was. Even though they had taken the long, scenic route, before he knew it, they were already at the bustling train station, leaving the serene lake behind them.

"We should do this again next year," Kaichou murmured when the train pulled into view.

"Definitely," he replied. Although there was nothing definite about the future even when he could see more than most people, he knew what he wanted, and what he wanted most at the moment was to be able to spend more time with Kaichou. The warmth of Kaichou's hand in his made him feel that perhaps his new years wish would come true after all.

With that thought in mind, he boarded the train with his friends to return home.


End file.
